Want
by his last walk
Summary: All Roxas wanted was to be normal, go to high school, and get away from his prestigious modeling life. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little, well, complicated. Boylove! AkuRoku main.
1. I

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little...complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** None really. It's **yaoi. **If you're a homophobe or you don't like, then don't read. It's not like I'm forcing you to. Mkay. No other warning, since this is just the...beginning. ;) Maybe like a few bad grammar and major fail. I'm young, so there's obviously lots of room for improvement. Roxas is a model, but you're gonna find that out anyway. And Axel is a -- well, just read and find out. He comes out in chapter two. I will try and make this NOT cliche as best as possible. Bear with me. I'll work around it somehow.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. It makes me sad. I haven't even played the game yet, and my friend keeps rubbing it into my face cause he's got a DS and a playstation2. Gawd. I really need to get one. So for now, for revenge, I shall spam him with yaoi pictures.

* * *

** I**

"Roxas, lift your chin up higher. Higher…okay, perfect. Now open your mouth slightly – yeah, like that. Close your eyes halfway, yes, like that. Put your hands in your pockets. I don't care if you can't do it. Just do it. Ah, now, hold still. Perfect," The camera flashed, "Roxas, you are a natural, you gorgeous, sexy beast."

If that picture had been shown to Roxas DeRenzis, he would have seen a flawless sixteen year old model barely hitting 5"3. His blond hair would have been tousled a bit; it had been a struggle to slip into that tight, black v-neck. His jeans didn't help the matter at all. There was an uncomfortable tightening around his crotch area every time he tried to bend his slender legs. But he had been told that the shade of it would make his cerulean blue eyes pop. It wasn't like it mattered much to him anyway. The only reason he was in this was because his uncle, Sephiroth, owned the model agency. If he had even tried to leave, his uncle would definitely not be happy and might even throw a fit.

Literally.

Yes, Sephiroth had a little bit of a history to be abusive, but only when he was drunk. But his uncle was so manipulative that it was impossible to tell anyone. Where would Roxas go anyway? He had no other family; his parents and unborn sister had died in a car accident. There was nowhere left except the streets or the orphanage. Roxas would battle his uncle anytime than have to endure the other two. It wasn't like Sephiroth had _always _been abusive…

It was just that one time when he had been really…drunk. Roxas didn't like it, and he wished Sephiroth hadn't drunk that day. It had ended up being one of the most traumatizing nights Roxas had ever had.

Roxas knew that Sephiroth felt bad about it. But he couldn't forget about it. Not about _that. _

Which brings him back into this scenario. Roxas ignored the murmurs of 'how photogenic he was' and picked at his clothes with great distaste, "Is it really necessary to bedazzle this?"

"That's the style," The photographer impatiently snapped his long fingers at his assistants, "Can someone please get him out of these clothes? Where's the casual wear for the perfume shoot? C'mon, people! I haven't got time for this dilly-dallying!"

Roxas immediately perked up like a happy child at Christmas when he heard the words 'casual wear', but had hardly any time to relish his happiness. He was suddenly yanked aside and dragged towards the change room. There was a heavy air that was tainted with different scents of perfume, and anyone would have started coughing and covering their nose. But Roxas was used to this.

Roxas felt the ends of his shirt being forced up and he hastily yanked it back down, to the puzzlement of the assistant.

"I'll change myself."

With a raised eyebrow, the assistant pushed him into the change room, "You've got two minutes," He barked, leaving the room.

Roxas rolled his eyes at the familiar phrase before stripping himself of his suffocating garments. The jeans he had difficulty sliding off, but in the end, he managed to get himself standing in his boxers. There were long mirrors all around the room, and though he tried not to notice it, the thin, roped scar on his back was very visible.

It had been three years ago, when he was thirteen. Sephiroth had been intoxicated after a late dinner party. When he had come home, it had started out with a few mean words. That was the standard procedure when Sephiroth had been drinking. But then there were pushes, and the pushes had gotten rougher and more violent, and then things got really out of hand…

After it was over, Sephiroth drove Roxas over to the local hospital, pretending to be a frantic uncle bringing an injured nephew into the emergency room. Or at least, to Roxas, it seemed as if he were pretending. The excuse he had given them was that Roxas had taken a tumble down the stairs, and his back had collided with the sharp corner of the table at the bottom of the stairs.

They believed him. But Roxas didn't care anymore. It had been one time. Sephiroth never hurt him that badly ever again. But that didn't stop him from shying away from him every time Sephiroth tried to talk to him. He could never tell if his uncle really cared about him, or if he was just pretending.

But no one has ever seen the scar since Sephiroth had kept everything hushed up. He didn't even allow Roxas to take pictures with his shirt entirely off. He _always _had to keep some sort of clothing on his body to cover the evidence of that scar. The only other person that knew about the scar was his supervisor/guardian/best friend/personal body violator, Demyx, who had '_accidentally_' walked into the room when Roxas was changing. After some persuasion and begging, Roxas had managed to keep Demyx quiet about it as well.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Roxas slowly pulled the fitted white t-shirt over his head. It felt nice compared to the one before, and the pants were actually slightly baggy on him as well. _And _it was torn at the knees. Roxas loved it.

"Hurry up!" The photographer screeched.

Roxas rushed out and bowed his head in apology. The photographer wasted no time in pushing him in front of the black background. That was when Roxas noticed that there was another model there.

It was a girl. Roxas had seen her face several times in magazines. She, like Roxas, modeled off mostly clothes. She sent him a small, fleeting smile, though somehow, Roxas got the impression that she was holding in her inner fangirl squeals.

"Roxas DeRenzis, Namine Tolores," The photographer trilled, "Now, stand facing each other as if you were about to kiss."

Roxas and the other blonde obliged, even if the last part of his sentence was blunt. Roxas knew exactly what kind of pose the photographer had in mind even before he had to explain. His hand found Namine's waist and his head tilted a little to the left, his lips millimeters away from Namine's. She giggled.

"Good, good. Now, Namine, tilt your head a little," Namine followed the instructions; the tiniest movement now would make their lips graze.

"Namine, come on now. Give me something to work with here. Put your hand underneath his shirt or _something_. Come on, act seductive. Pretend you two are going to have some hot, steamy sex after this photo."

Roxas stiffened, turning a little red. He would never actually have _sex _with a _girl_ anyway. He bit his lip to keep from laughing as Namine's hand crept up his chest; he was awfully ticklish. There was also this slight discomfort when he felt her skin touching his. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, reminding himself that Namine was a girl, and his uncle was far, _far _away. He wouldn't have minded if the photographer told Namine to hold his hand, but to touch him anywhere else…it made him feel uncomfortable. He drilled the thought into his head over and over again: _It's not him…it's not him…_

"Roxas, don't bite your lip. Alright, okay, ready?"

The camera flashed a few half a dozen times, and finally, Roxas was done. For the day.

The photographer cleared up and fled the scene a lot quicker than Roxas anticipated. He expected that he had a tight schedule to keep. With a sigh of relief, Roxas turned around to leave (he was always allowed to keep the clothes he modeled off, even if most of them were given to charity), when suddenly, he was face-to-face with Namine again. Just as Roxas had predicted, she _had_ been concealing her inner desires.

"Oh my gosh! I am a big fan, Roxas!"

Roxas blinked twice. Once to make sure that he had heard right, and the second time was to make sure that her lips were actually hovering above his own again. He leaned back a little to avoid Namine's approaching face, "Er…thanks."

"Listen, we should totally hang out and have coffee together sometimes or something. Maybe now if you're not busy."

"Ah, as enjoyable as that does sound, I'm gonna have to turn that offer down," Roxas answered as politely as he could. He was so used to turning down girls that he no longer felt bad about doing so. Namine's face fell in disappointment,

"Why?"

"I'm meeting someone. Urgent business," Roxas thought that up from the top of his head. IT was half-true anyway. He had to tell Demyx something desperately important that had something to do with the following day. He had tried to put off telling Demyx for as long as he could, but now he really needed to inform him. Namine seemed satisfied with the answer,

"Okay. Another time then. But wow, I finally had a picture taken with you. Sixteen years old, like me, and modeling. I think fate's setting us up or something."

Roxas had no idea what to say to that, and was immensely relieved when he was spared answering; a familiar face, with the usual blond mullet, had turned the corner,

"Roxy, you're supposed to come outside, remember?"

"Demyx," Roxas murmured happily, "Sorry, I got caught up," He wasted no time in shaking Namine's hand, followed with a short, '_Goodbye. It was nice meeting you.' _He started to walk away quickly in case she had the mind to ask him for his autograph.

Roxas handed Demyx two bags, but when he gave the second one to him, Demyx nearly fell over by the weight. He narrowed his eyes, "Whoa, what do you have in here? Did you pack a building or something?"

"Nope. Nothing's inside. Nothing important anyway," Roxas said with a sly smile. He'd tell Demyx what was inside later.

As they left Namine and go inside the limo, Demyx wiggled his eyebrows, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement, "Who was she, that girl you were with earlier?"

"No one in particular."

"Yeah, I know you don't like girls. Just asking though."

It was true. Roxas found that girls were much too moody, especially when it was their time of the month. And anyway, Roxas had found that guys were more attractive anyway. Still, no one knew that except for Demyx and Sephiroth. Most of the people around him just considered him to be straight.

Demyx continued to speak as he fixed up his dirty-blond hair in the mirror, "Anyway, you told me you had something important to tell me?"

"I do," Roxas said, then added anxiously, "Can I stay at your place tonight? My uncle's overseas," Demyx already knew the last part, being his supervisor and all, but he added that in anyway for good measure. Sephiroth had thought that if he had given Roxas a little bit of time alone, they would perhaps forget about that little scenario a few years ago.

Demyx grinned, "Sure, but I don't know why you'd choose my crap apartment over your five-star hotel. Honestly, I can never get tired of that flat-screen TV and Jacuzzi thing you have in there."

They soon arrived at Demyx's apartment. Though he would never admit it out loud, Roxas loved Demyx's apartment. Sure, it was a little small compared to his suite and sometimes the air conditioning would be broken and the room would be unbearably hot, but sometimes Roxas just tired of the luxury he always had and wanted to live a normal life.

He jumped onto the L-shaped sofa, hugging the red pillow to his chest as he smiled up at Demyx. The older rolled his eyes before turning back around to lock the door. The sofa was comfortable, a brilliant shade of red even if it did stick out in Demyx's light blue room. Roxas loved the shade of it, and every opportunity he'd get, he would pounce on it.

Demyx still had the two bags in his hands when he turned on Roxas, "Okay, now tell me!" His eyes gleamed in anticipation and excitement. He knew that Roxas was going to tell him a very big secret.

Roxas took a deep breath, "Well…I'm going to school tomorrow."

The eagerness was still in Demyx's eyes, and Roxas' shoulders sagged. Sometimes, his best friend really _was_ slow. He tried again, this time speaking a little slower, "Demyx…I…am going…to school…tomorrow. You know, that school that's like ten minutes away from here? I signed up for it, and they accepted me. They said I'm starting tomorrow. I. Am. Going. To. **_School_**!"

That made Demyx catch on, alright. His eyes widened and the bottom part of his mouth fell open. The sight was so funny that Roxas laughed into his pillow, muffling his giggles out. Demyx did not break a smile, "_WHAT_?" He exclaimed, "But Sephiroth… your uncle… your homeschooling…what the hell? School? But…I'm…" He trailed off, then continued in a small voice, "I'm going to get fired, Roxas, what have you done?!"

Roxas was a little nervous now, seeing how frantic Demyx was, but he continued to speak in a calm, soothing voice, "What my uncle doesn't know won't hurt him. I won't even mention your name if that makes you feel any better. I pretty much forged your signature onto the documents, but _I'll take the blame_," Roxas said hastily to reassure his friend, "And as for my homeschooling, I fired the guy."

Even through his shock, Demyx managed to pull off a skeptic look, "Really?"

"Yep. And even gave him money to keep him quiet."

Demyx groaned, flailing his right hand in the air as if trying to prove a point. A really _big _point, "Roxas, gah, what about your modeling? You can't just stop all of a sudden! Your uncle will probably find out you've stopped and come storming in to ask what's happened. And then that's when you'll find out you're in deep shit."

Roxas shrugged it off, "I can model after school. I'll just do it on the days I need to. Just schedule my photo shoots in the afternoon and I'll be fine. Can't skip classes, you know."

Demyx nodded, though he did not look entirely convinced, "God, Roxas, what a mess you've gotten yourself into to. What made you want to go to school anyway?"

"That school uniform I modeled off a month ago."

"Ah. So _that's _why you couldn't stop staring at yourself in the mirror. For a moment, I thought you had turned narcissist."

"I thought the uniform looked good on me," Roxas retorted back testily. "Anyway, I still have it and I thought I'd put it to good use."

"Where is it now?"

Roxas pointed at the bag in Demyx's right hand. His supervisor dropped it as if it were hot coal, "Heeeey, you little plotter! You told me nothing important was inside! Now I, Demyx, helped carry Roxas' uniform into the apartment. Thanks for dragging me into this, though it isn't like I wasn't already in it," He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Where are your school books?"

Roxas pointed to the other bag in Demyx's left hand, grinning from ear to ear. Demyx yelped and dropped that as well. The Mickey Mouse duffle bag fell with a loud thud. Demyx pointed his index finger at Roxas, words unable to escape from his throat. Roxas laughed as Demyx continued to splutter. Soon, he just gave up trying to chastise Roxas and fell backwards onto the couch with a dramatic sigh.

Roxas sat down on the sofa chair beside Demyx and waited for his friend to recover. Demyx took a couple deep breaths before propping his head on the cushion, "Um…how's this gonna work – I mean, not that I'm supporting this idea…" But Roxas already knew that Demyx was going to help him out, "But you're Roxas DeRenzis, famous model. You're going to be attracting a lot of attention at the school, including the publicity and cameras. Then, before you know it, your uncle's going to find out about you going to school and let's just say he's not going to be very happy."

Roxas bit his lip, "That's where I need more of your help."

He had been thinking about it. Going to school as Roxas DeRenzis would blow his cover immediately. So he had thought of something to disguise himself. It was really quite simple. Demyx raised his eyebrow,

"Go on."

Roxas let his hand push his hair out of his blue eyes, "You take care of the wigs and the hair department, right?"

"Right…"

"I was wondering if you had any wigs at home, you know, so I can—"

"—Disguise yourself," Demyx frowned, but his eyes gave him away. He was actually impressed with the idea and was excited about helping Roxas out. He stood up and strode over to the bedroom. Demyx then turned a left into the closet and unveiled a room full of hats and different styles of hair. Roxas gingerly touched the nearest one,

"Help me choose."

"Hmm, I don't…" Demyx rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he peered into the room. He picked up a black, spiky wig, "Wanna be a punk?"

"No thanks," Roxas grinned, setting it aside, "Subtle is good."

Demyx was barely listening. He had already gone on to the next shelf, "I think you'd look good as a brunet."

"Really?" Roxas had never really thought about going brunet. But now that Demyx mentioned it, he felt like he could give it a try. He stepped up beside Demyx and started examining the copper-colored wigs.

"This one?"

Demyx held one out but before Roxas could take a good look at it, he had already put it back, "Ehh…too dark."

He chose out another one and as Roxas made an attempt to grab it before it could disappear again, but Demyx yanked it out of the way, causing him to fall flat on his face, "Too long. It won't look good – Roxas, what are you doing on the floor?"

"Tripped," Roxas mumbled before clambering back up.

They spent almost an hour in the stifling closet. Roxas had given up trying to catch glimpses of the wigs on the fifth and sixth one. He had sat down on the ground as Demyx happily hummed and muttered to himself. At least someone was enjoying himself.

Though Roxas had made all these plans and covered all possible loopholes, he was still a little bit apprehensive. Suppose something went wrong during the year and Sephiroth had to come back? It was highly unlikely, and his uncle had said he wouldn't be coming back until next summer, which by then school would be over. Roxas had already prayed a million times that his uncle would not come back from Europe early.

He was interrupted when Demyx started talking again, "So what about your hotel?"

Roxas was confused, "What about it?"

"The people? Won't your uncle call up to check on you?"

"The hotel people I bribed too to stay quiet, so that's taken care of," Roxas fiddled around his pockets in search for his phone, "And in the unlikely moment that Sephiroth will call me to ask how I'm doing, he'd call me cell phone."

Demyx was silent for a while as he continued to search, then, "What about your normal clothes? Surely you're not going to wear your uniform on the weekends."

"Who's gonna see me on weekends?" Roxas asked, utterly bewildered.

"People you meet at school? They're called friends, Roxy," Demyx rolled his eyes in faint amusement. Obviously, Roxas had not given much thought about it. His eyes widened in dawning wonder and horror, and he felt quite stupid at the moment,

"Oh…but what if they don't like me? Those people at school?"

"You're thinking about that _now?_" Demyx chuckled. He felt like he was talking to a preschool kid who was just starting school. But it was true that Roxas knew little about the actual school life. Then again, it didn't hurt to be a little encouraging, "You've always been a people-person. You'll be fine; they'll like you no problem. And it's totally normal to be nervous on your first day of school. Uh, _for _your first day of school, I mean."

"Really?" He formed a small pout on his lips, "I don't know…" What kind of people would he meet at school, anyway? Everyone he _knew _respected him and treated him well because of who he was. But at school, he was just going to be another kid. He heard of the term 'bullies' before, and he hoped to God that he wouldn't end up being a victim. The thought scared him a little and for the first time, he started having doubts about going to school.

"Found one!" Demyx beamed.

And those doubts were instantly pushed aside, "Finally."

Demyx forced the chestnut brown wig on top of Roxas' head and for a few seconds, they struggle a little to shove all of Roxas' hair under the wig. In the end, they got it on and Demyx stepped out of the way so that at last, Roxas could see himself.

The wig was similar to Roxas' hair, except that it was brown and it was a lot more, well, spikier. Roxas liked it, though obviously he preferred his blond hair over _this. _He ran a hand through the wig, and it was surprisingly soft, though not as soft as his own.

Demyx shrugged, "Best I can do."

Roxas grinned and hugged his blond friend by the middle, "Thanks, Demy. You're the best."

"I know," Demyx retorted before ruffling Roxas' fake hair affectionately, "I just hope that you won't end up dating in school, 'cause then when your boyfriend suddenly starts making out with you and runs his fingers through your _silky, brown _hair, the wig suddenly falls off."

Roxas made a face, "No…just, no," He didn't even _want _to think about _that _possibility.

Demyx still had his grin on his face, evidently amused by the mere fact that Roxas's wig _could _accidentally fall off, "So where am I in all this? Just your wig provider or something of the like?"

"I'm staying at your house so you're still my guardian," Roxas interjected, "And I'm still me, in any case. My parents are still dead, and I've still got an uncle who treats me like I'm a toy, and _no_, Demyx, you still can't tell anyone. I'm still me…just with different hair and under a different name and…I'll be wearing your clothes on the weekend, I guess, until I decide to go shopping."

Demyx looked down at Roxas' short height, "You're titchy. How are _you _going to fit into _my _clothes?"

"I'll manage," Roxas waved the matter away.

Demyx brushed the tiny strands of his hair out of his eyes, "Well, okay, I mean I see you trying on my clothes every time you stay over—"

"They're comfy!"

"What name are you going by, anyway?"

"Rokusasu Hale." Roxas wrinkled his nose and Demyx snorted into his hand, "I don't like it either! But it was at the spur of the moment! I just looked down at two names in the magazine…and…yeah…" He ended lamely.

Demyx couldn't answer. He was too busy muffling his chuckles into his hands, "Rokusasu?" Demyx choked out, "Eh, whatever you like, Roxy. Just don't tell anyone I'm the person who named _you._"

Roxas jutted his bottom lip and feinted a look of annoyance, "Shut up."

"Just be sure you don't slip up, Rokusasu~," Demyx reminded jokingly.

"I won't…"

Roxas pulled the wig off and, fortunately, it did not come off easily. Which meant that a little blunder shouldn't trouble him. He held it tightly in his hands and glanced down at it, "Will this be enough? You don't think I'll need contacts, do you?"

"Nah. You shouldn't wear contacts anyway. You don't know how to, and the next thing you know, you're going to poke your eye out and make your eye turn red. And then you can't model anymore."

Roxas didn't say anything to that for he knew that Demyx was right. He didn't have a steady hand, so contacts was already out of the question. He supposed that a wig would be sufficient enough. He tapped Demyx on the shoulder,

"I need you to drive me to school."

"No bus?" Demyx asked. Roxas shook his head; he never checked.

"I wanna get there at 7:00 just so I can see the school a little. Classes start at 8:17."

"_That _is such a random number."

Roxas grinned. There was a sudden silence but then, all of a sudden, Demyx burst out into laughter. Roxas' eyes widened,

"What?"

To his surprise, Demyx started singing, "_You get the beeeest of both worlds_~!" Roxas rolled his eyes, realizing that it was a joke poking at him wearing a wig. Though Demyx's voice was nice, he did not like the song. He hit Demyx on the arm, obviously not flattered by this comparison,

"That's not funny."

"_Chilling out, take it slow, then you rock out the show_~"

"Shut up, Demy…" Before he could comment about something else, like how he _really_ did not like to be compared to Hannah Montana, Roxas yawned. Demyx stopped singing and pointed to the bed. Roxas raised his eyebrow, "Aren't you sleeping there?"

"It's a two-person bed. Don't worry," he hastily added, "I'm not going to do anything. Who would have the time to do anything to you?" Demyx quickly ducked to avoid Roxas' playful fists. But on a more serious note, he faced Roxas again, "Are you sure you're going to be okay though? I mean…the nightmares…"

Roxas stared hard at the ground. Right, the nightmares. They only came out when he was nervous, or having a really bad night. He supposed, with all the butterflies in his stomach right now, that he _could _have another nightmare tonight. It was always the same one. A replayed dream of the night he had gotten the scar. Well, it was always different, but the ending would always be the same. It was the night which traumatized him the most.

But he shook his head, giving Demyx a gentle smile, "I'll be fine as long as you don't touch me when I'm sleeping. Remember to wake me up before seven o' clock. Don't touch my clothes, or tamper with my books. And one last time, do _not _touch me when I'm slee—"

"Good night, Rokusasu…"

* * *

_Roxas sat on his bed, reading a fairly long, hardcover book. He was hardly concentrating on the words though; the sound of the ticking clock was deafening in his ears. He wasn't at his hotel, but at his Sephiroth's mansion-like house. He had been told to sleep there for the night, and Roxas didn't really think much of it. His uncle was away at a party tonight anyway._

_That was why Roxas couldn't pay attention to the book. Sephiroth was at a party, which meant he was bound to get drunk. And whenever he was drunk…well, it was never fun for Roxas. Maybe this time it'll be different. _

_He should have known better though._

_There was a sudden crash downstairs and Roxas knew that Sephiroth had come home. Slowly, Roxas stood up and started towards the stairs. He leaned against it, "You're drunk," He said stiffly, noting his uncle's damp silver hair. _

_"Roxas, I am not **that **drunk. Come get me another drink." He hiccupped. _

_By drink, Roxas supposed that he didn't mean water. Disgusted, Roxas shook his head, "You've had enough for the night. Look at yourself."_

_"Roxas DeRenzis, you are thirteen years old. Do **not **tell your uncle that – just go get me another fucking drink, will you?" There was a bottle that was sloshing with alcohol and Roxas stomped down the stairs to rip it out of his grasp. Sephiroth looked shocked,_

_"No more drinking," Roxas felt a lot older than he really was. He almost smiled triumphantly at the look on his uncle's face, but that was before his huge, coarse hands starting reaching for the drink in Roxas's hand—_

* * *

Roxas jerked himself awake. It was a good thing he did too, or else the dream would have continued. He was drenched in sweat; even his pillow was wet from his hair. He gasped for breath and placed his hands on his blankets, clenching them as he tried to reassure himself that it was just a dream. The past. It only happened once anyway. Why couldn't he just _forget_ about it?

He jumped when Demyx rushed into the room. "I-I heard…" He took in Roxas' frenetic, slightly-hyperventilating form and instantly darted over to his side, "Roxas, are you okay?"

Roxas took another deep breath, shaking his head and nodding it at the same time, "N-no—yeah, I'm okay. I just…I just need to…breathe," Roxas heaved a sigh and let it out slowly in shuddering breaths. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the moment he did, it felt like he was free-falling back into his nightmare again. Demyx noticed this, and with a little hesitation, he brought his hand up and stroked Roxas's hair gently, comfortingly. Roxas flinched violently, his eyes snapping wide open again.

"Hey," Demyx whispered, "It's just me."

It always took him a while to get used to another person's touch, especially if it was another male. Especially if it was after one of his _nightmares. _He found the nightmares so tiresome, and they were so pointless. Yes, it had happened, and yes, Roxas had been terrified at the time. But it was over now. Why wouldn't they just stop?

But he saw the blond hair of his friend, and his wide, worried-filled eyes, and he knew that it was Demyx. With shaking hands, he sat up and weakly clutched Demyx's shoulders as he tried to steady himself. But he couldn't stop his gasps; it was like he was suffocating. The nightmare seemed more _real _than his other ones. He blinked his eyes rapidly,

"I-I can't…can't stop…"

He could feel Demyx's other hand grasping his shoulder tightly, gripping it to the point where it was painful. Roxas winced, trying to bring himself back into the room. He _wasn't _in his dream, he had to tell himself that.

"Breathe, Roxas. You're here in my room, remember? C'mon, Roxas, snap out of it…" Demyx loosened his grip on Roxas's shoulder, but he continued to stroke Roxas's hair, despite how wet it was from the sweat. Roxas gripped his blanket tightly, balling his hands into fists. A small sniffle escaped him, and he slowly lifted his head to meet Demyx's eyes. _Demyx _was the only one that could comfort him like this. He was used to _Demyx's _touch, and anyone else would have made him leap back in fear. He could never tell the difference when he just comes out of a nightmare. His friend raised an eyebrow,

"Better?"

As soon as he could deeply inhale and exhale, Roxas gave out a little chuckle, feebly saying, "And I thought I could get a good night's sleep before school."

"You tried," Demyx murmured, bemused.

Roxas swallowed, nodding, "Y-yeah…what gave me away?"

"When I came in to brush my teeth, you were just mumbling weird shit, I don't know, I couldn't hear. I go out and the next thing you're screaming your head off. So I came back—"

"I was screaming?" Roxas whispered. Demyx looked slightly uncomfortable as he nodded his head, a silent groan of uneasiness escaping his lips. Roxas' eyes dropped in embarrassment, and all Demyx could do was avoid his gaze. His friend's hand patted down on the pillow behind him and he picked it up with his two fingers,

"You drenched my pillow."

"S-sorry…" Demyx shrugged it off and replaced it with the one _he _was going to sleep on. Roxas was about to protest, but Demyx pushed on his chest and made him fall back against the fluffy pillow once more. It felt cold against his damp, sweat-soaked hair.

"Roxy, just sleep. Think about something else. I'll be here until you fall asleep. Okay?"

"Mmkay…" Roxas mumbled a reply as he turned onto his side, obliging. He didn't hesitate to listen to Demyx, for the next second he had closed his eyes, he had fallen into deep sleep.

* * *

**Notes: **I swear, Demyx and Roxas are only best friends. :D I hope it wasn't too bad, hm? **I also swear that Hannah Montana was _NOT_ on my mind while I thought of this idea. **It wasn't until Sinful Zee mentioned it, I was like: FCKKKNOOO! It makes me quite sad. I shall try and make it entirely different. Somehow. Ohkay? D: Please do not think of Roxas as a Hannah Montana. I know I added the song in there...but I don't even _like _the song and --continues to rant. Yup. Sorry.

I also promise not to make it overly dramatic. Just trying to get in some background information, is all.

I know I should be finishing my other AkuRoku, but this idea is _not _leaving me and it's starting to bother me. I have the end and the middle and everything planned out. D: THANKS FOR READING !


	2. II

**Summary:**All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Mindless Self Indulgence lyrics. You know how they go if you know 'em. ;) And Sora's hyperness. Nothing serious. And Demyx's fail lack of remembering things in the morning.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Chapter Dedicationz:** Because they were my first reviewers. :D ilovewriting23, Lolmaster27, HikaruXKaoru4life, Masterday, Dear Lunacy, FinalFallenFantasy, and BonneNuit. Thanks guys. It means a lot to me. KH hearts all around ~

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. Neither do the lyrics of Mindless Self Indulgence. How wonderful they are.

**

* * *

II  
**

"HOLY EFF!! DEMYX! I TOLD YOU TO WAKE ME UP AT 7:00!!"

That was the first thing Roxas shouted out after having waking up from the sun streaming through his curtains. He even forgot all about last night's dilemma. He could faintly sense the red tinge through his closed eyes. He had glanced around for the clock only to see the bright red numbers reading: 7:30. He knew he was freaking out a little too much since he wasn't even late for school yet, but it still bothered him that Demyx couldn't even wake him up at that time. What if this was on a normal school day and the time had been 8:30?

Roxas nudged Demyx awake, making the other blond moan into his pillow, "Nooo, Roxas…I was having a dream about cupcakes and…"

"Fatty, get out of bed! Ahh…" Roxas swung his legs over the bed and stumbled over to the washroom. His hair was messy from sleep, and it was sticking up rather chaotically at the front. He didn't have the time to wash his hair again so he just ruffled it even more and just left it at that. He was going to be wearing a wig anyway. He filled a cup of water, put toothpaste onto his light blue toothbrush and brushed his teeth in all of thirteen seconds. By the time he had finished washing his face and rushed back into the bedroom, Demyx was still lying on the bed facedown. Roxas groaned in frustration,

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Quickly racking his brains, Roxas suddenly thought of an idea. He crossed over beside Demyx and whispered into his ear, "I'll throw your sitar out the window if you don't get up right this very second."

A hand shot out from under the blankets and clutched the front of Roxas' shirt. An angry eye peeked at him and Demyx raised his head, "Don't. You. Dare."

Roxas wrenched out of his grasp and started running towards the room where Demyx's sitar was kept, "You gotta stop me or else I'm going to—" He didn't even finish his sentence for the musician had leapt out of bed and started a grand chase after Roxas.

"Roxy, get back here! Don't touch my sitar!"

"C'mon, Demy, is that the best you can do?" He leapt out of the way of Demyx's hands just in time. In the end, Roxas was still too fast for him and Demyx had run out of breath. Roxas plucked at the sitar gently, having absolutely no intentions of throwing it out the window. Demyx put his hands on his knees, heaving in gasps,

"Alright, alright. I'm up. Okay."

As Demyx went back into his room to change his clothes, Roxas searched around the room for his bag. Zipping it open, he pulled out his black dress pants and a white polo shirt. There was a black tie in there as well, but he didn't know how to put on one. He would have asked Demyx for his help, but he was pretty sure that Demyx didn't know how to either. He assumed that Demyx wasn't really an expert in putting on ties and then it would consume even more time if he tried. All the while taking notice of the time, he tugged his brown wig over his head and adjusted it in front of the mirror so that it looked decent. Yanking his pants up, he hastily zipped them up before yelling back,

"Are you done?"

Demyx mumbled something back and Roxas was just about to spring open the door when his best friend strode through, "Yep, all done!" He noticed the black tie that was still in Roxas's hands and he held his hand out, "I'll do it for you."

Roxas made a skeptic face, "Seriously? You know how?" This was indeed unexpected.

Demyx rolled his eyes, "Uh, yeah." He yanked the tie out of Roxas's hands and motioned him to come closer. Roxas took a tiny step forwards and Demyx wrapped the tie around Roxas's neck with a flourish. Roxas wasn't even paying attention, but Demyx was saying, "So you pull that through here, then around, then back up, then down, and then…you're done." He patted down on Roxas's tie, "Spiffy."

Roxas stole a sideways glance at the mirror, "Yeah…you have to teach me how to do this one day."

Demyx winked, "Another day, then," He glanced down at his watch, "Time to go!"

"About time t—"

Roxas barely had time to pronounce the 'too' when Demyx tugged hard on his wrist and nearly made him fly off the ground as they rushed out the door. There were a few clicks as Demyx locked the door, but the next second Roxas knew, he was outside, standing beside Demyx's car. He raised an eyebrow as if unsure of how he got there in the first place. Demyx was already in the front seat, and he honked the horn, making Roxas leap at least a foot into the air in shock,

"Hurry up and get in or do you _not _want to go to school?!"

And that was all the incentive Roxas needed. He quickly hopped into the car and he had barely lifted his feet off the ground when Demyx stomped on the pedal. Let's just say that the next few minutes of Roxas's life was _not _pleasant. Demyx drove way too fast for his own good. Roxas had the feeling that if he were ever to get into the same car with Demyx again…he didn't want to even _think _about it. After a mere five minutes, the moment that Demyx screeched to a stop beside the school, Roxas leapt out of the car and dove for the ground.

He felt really dizzy. Was this normal? He didn't think so.

He angrily whirled at Demyx, glaring accusingly at him, "I'm _never _getting into the same car as you when you're driving. Ever. Again."

Demyx stepped out of the car slowly, giving Roxas a strange look. The blond shrugged, a grin on his face, "I don't like driving. And plus, didn't you say you wanted to get here early?" He spread his arms wide as if presenting the school to Roxas, "Ta da~"

Roxas scowled, rolling his eyes in annoyance, "No."

Demyx made a pout, "Aw, you're no fun. I was just trying to be on time."

"Yeah, well, never drive your date to a date. They'll throw up, I guarantee it."

Straightening his tie and patting down on the wrinkles of his shirt, Roxas made sure his wig looked legit in the car mirror. Nodding over to where Demyx was, he indicated that the two of them should go inside, "I think you have to come to the office with me," He explained when Demyx looked confused. His friend looked uncomfortable, as if going inside the school with a bunch of teenagers wasn't exactly his idea of fun.

"No one's gonna be inside," Roxas reminded him, "We're early, remember?" At least, he _hoped _no one was inside for Demyx's sake. With a slight raise of his shoulder, Demyx shuffled by Roxas's side,

"What do I say?" Demyx muttered.

"Just say whatever comes to mind," Roxas whispered back giddily as they approached the stairs of the school, "In any case, don't mention I'm a model or anything or else my cover is blown. And remember, my name is Rokusasu, and use it, no matter how idiotic it sounds."

Demyx nodded, holding the door open for Roxas, "Yeah, well, as soon as this little meeting's over, I'm out of here. You're on your own so _you _better not mess up," He gave Roxas a reassuring smile all the while the shorter blond (now brunet) huffed through his nose in an annoyed manner.

"Yeah, whatever."

The hallways were big, but Roxas knew that once the kids and students started to fill in the space between the lockers, it would be extremely difficult for him to walk through to his classes. Still, the walls were painted with the school colors – red and black – and even the lockers looked brand new, a slick glossy black. The school probably had someone paint them over again during the summer break.

The floors were shiny and every time Roxas dragged his shoes across it, they made a soft squeaking sound. Then Roxas realized that Demyx was wincing every time he _did _do that. Right…Demyx didn't even like the sound of nails against the blackboard.

"Sorry," Roxas grinned, humming a soft song to himself as he peered around the corners. It had been stuck in his head all morning. It was probably because Demyx had put it on repeat in his car and the only way Roxas could keep himself from throwing up was to concentrate on something else. Therefore, he chose the song. Now he was thinking,

_Where could the office be…?_

He said that out loud too. Demyx paused in the middle of the hallway, whirling around and placing a firm hand on Roxas's shoulder,

"Maybe that really big room all the way down there? I'm pretty sure that's the office since it says: **The Office.** Gosh, Rokusasu, maybe you really _do _need contacts."

"Tch," Roxas nudged Demyx out of the way in a mockingly annoyed manner before striding towards the office doors. He could hear Demyx behind him, slowly dragging his feet, but carefully, so that the squeaking noise would not come up abruptly. Roxas stuffed his hands into his dress pants, becoming more and more aware of the pounding in his heart.

Would he be recognized? He _was _rather famous, after all. He hoped not. It would be quite sad if he couldn't even last ten minutes in this school. And then…he'd have to get back to where he was before. Modeling…same old, same old. _No, even worse…_Sephiroth would find out.

_Sephiroth would find out._

That was a dreadful thought. What would he do if his uncle found out? He'd have to run away, maybe. He didn't really want to face his uncle. Demyx wouldn't even be able to protect him. He was breaking so many rules just by attending this school, but he _wanted _to come here. He'd never actually been studying in school, and this was time for a new experience.

All he had to do was keep it from his uncle's knowledge.

A tiny bell rang as he walked through the door of the office. There was no one inside, but he knew that there _must _be someone around since the lights were on, the computer on top of the desk was on, and the coffee machine in the back room was on. And there was a strong scent of caffeine. Roxas knew the smell, though he'd never tried it before. Demyx stepped in, blowing a wisp of air from the corner of his mouth. Roxas called out hesitantly,

"Helloooo~?"

"Hi."

A short response, a quiet one, caused Roxas to jump slightly. The voice had come from the room diagonally across Roxas's right side. Taking a few steps forward, he peered around the door to see a man sitting at the desk. The man's slate hair was covering his right eye, making only the left one visible. The man raised his eyebrow, questioning Roxas for his sudden appearance in his office. "Yes?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes at the desk, reading: **Principal Zexion Hart. **"Mr…Hart?"

"Just Mr. Zexion's fine," The man seemed uneasy when Roxas called him by his last name. Roxas wondered if it would be alright if he called Mr. Zexion by just his first name. Demyx stepped up, putting his hand out in a polite gesture. Roxas noticed that his guardian was a tad bit too pink in the cheeks.

"I'm Demyx, Rox—Rok—Rokusasu's…uh…guardian."

Zexion's eyes – or rather, the eye that could be seen – widened, "Sorry?" It was evident that Zexion had no idea what Demyx just said. Roxas wouldn't have either; it sounded like a whole lot of stuttering nonsense. Since when did Demyx ever lose his cool?

"My name's Rokusasu," Roxas provided, since he knew that Demyx would take a while to recover from…whatever he was experiencing, "I'm new here."

"I didn't name him," Demyx abruptly shot out. Roxas could have slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead.

"Sorry?" Zexion asked for the second time. Roxas could have taken a snapshot of his expression if he had a camera. It was priceless.

"Don't mind him," Roxas said quickly. The slate-haired man took his eyes off Demyx and stared at Roxas with a bemused expression. Roxas wasn't sure if Zexion had heard what he said before, so he repeated it tentatively, "I'm new."

Zexion's lips formed into a small smile, and it seemed like he had forgotten about Demyx for the moment, much to the mullet-haired man's despair, "Oh, you're the new kid," He looked down and scanned through the papers on his desk. Roxas stared; it was so _organized. _Roxas could never keep his desk like that. He knew he should practice getting better at organizing his things, but he could never go through with that. He waited for Zexion to pull out his file, and when he did, Zexion motioned for Roxas and Demyx to sit down.

Demyx hurriedly crossed over to the seat in front of Zexion, and Roxas had to sit on the one by the side. Zexion didn't seem to notice though; in fact, Roxas was sure that he had smiled.

"Rokusasu Hale," Zexion narrowed his eyes as he read the file. He glanced up to see if Roxas's face matched his picture and for that one second, Roxas's heart skipped a beat. But it went back down to normal as soon as Zexion turned his attention back to the sheet of paper. Roxas supposed that he wasn't one to actually read fashion magazines.

_Thank God…_

"This is your signature?" Zexion held up the paper for Demyx to see. Roxas held his breath, hoping that his friend would be able to lie for him. Demyx narrowed his eyes at the small signature before nodding his head slowly,

"Yeah, that's mine."

Zexion wrinkled his nose as his eyes dropped back down, "You sign like a teenager… no offence," When Zexion wasn't looking, Demyx threw Roxas a dirty glare and the younger blushed with shame. _Sorry…_He mentally apologized to Demyx.

"None taken," Demyx said through gritted teeth and a forced smile. Roxas grinned, then Demyx asked in a louder voice, "Are there school buses?"

Zexion glanced up, "Why? Rokusasu would like to take one?"

"Apparently, he doesn't like my driving."

"You wouldn't either," Roxas told Zexion hurriedly. Was that another smile Roxas saw? It was impossible to tell. The principal took in Roxas's address, which would actually be Demyx's address,

"Well, yes. There's a bus scheduled to come there at around 7:46. I'll sign you up but you'll have to be at that stop five minutes early. If you miss it…" He threw his gaze over to Demyx, "He'll have to drive you to school again."

Demyx grinned sheepishly, turning faintly pink.

Zexion flipped through the papers a few more times before placing them neatly on the desk, "Alright, well, you can have a look around the school before it starts. Students usually arrive fifteen minutes earlier, which means…" He took a quick glance at the clock on the wall, "They'll be here in no time. Locker number…1308, Rokusasu."

Roxas nodded, giving Zexion his sweetest smile, "Thanks!" He really _was _grateful that Zexion hadn't suspected anything. Just as he stood up to leave, Demyx leaned in on Zexion, face set,

"Is Hart really your last name? You don't look like a 'Hart'."

Roxas widened his eyes; this was no time for Demyx to be random. What kind of question was that? Maybe Demyx was still slightly ticked off that Roxas had signed his name for him and now Zexion thought that Demyx had kid-ish writing. Roxas was surprised when Zexion raised an eyebrow and answered truthfully,

"No. I changed my last name."

"Why?"

Roxas started to back away, just in case things started to get awkward. Actually, they always did whenever Demyx was the one asking questions. Roxas prayed that whatever he was going to ask, it wouldn't get the principal worked up. It would attract too much attention to him, and this was still his first day of school.

"Because I didn't like it," Zexion's answer was short.

Demyx's face split into a grin, "Are you going to tell me what your old last name was?"

"No."

Roxas kicked the back of Demyx's chair, drawing his friend's attention. It was then that Demyx actually realized what he was doing. Instantly shooting out of his seat, he did a little awkward bow of his head in goodbye and stopped at the door of Zexion's office, "Well, I'll find out~" Demyx sang, and with a flourish, he left.

Roxas coughed into his hand, "Sorry. My…he's not feeling well today." _He acts nervous when he's around good looking guys. It's a pattern I've noticed ever since I could remember… _Roxas thought, but he kept that to himself. He didn't think it would be proper to tell Zexion that Demyx _had _been hitting on him in the past few minutes…in his own little special way. It would probably freak his principal out a little, and he knew that he wouldn't be gallivanting off with his students' parents anyway.

Zexion shrugged his shoulder indifferently, brushing a strand of his hair out of his eyes, "I noticed. You may go."

Roxas nodded eagerly, clearly excited. Half-skipping out of the office, he shuffled his way towards the entrance doors. He started to walk backwards, retracing his steps. He was never really good with directions. But it didn't matter; he could wander around the entire school finding his way out. He didn't mind.

Just as he turned the corner with his back facing the doors, he heard the doors swing open and he whirled around. One could say it was a really big shock for him when he saw what he saw.

He thought he was looking into a mirror for a second. Brown hair, blue eyes, same height…_what the fuck? _It couldn't have been a mirror though, because the other 'twin' was holding the door open with a faint puzzled expression while Roxas's jaw was dropped down. _This was impossible…_ this _had _to be some sort of trick.

Roxas moved to the left, and so did his 'twin'. Roxas felt his left eye twitch before jumping backwards, flailing his arms like an idiot. The other person did not move; instead, he burst out laughing. He had to hold his stomach as if his intestines were about to fall out. Roxas gave the boy a strange glance,

"What's so funny?"

_So he _was _real…_

The boy straightened up, tears streaming from his eyes from laughing so hard a few seconds ago, "Oh, my. Ow…my stomach…ow…" He let loose a small chuckle before making eye contact with Roxas, the blue orbs meeting Roxas's, "Woooow. I never knew I had a long lost twin. This is _too _funny! And then you jumped back waving your arms like a monkey – oh god…I can't _breathe_…" The boy had to sit down against one of the lockers; it was like he couldn't stand on his own two feet anymore.

Roxas waited for the boy to calm down before awkward saying, "Hi," His voice was quiet.

The boy was still a little hysterical, "Hey!" He finally got to stand up and he stuck his hand out for Roxas to shake. A wide smile was on his face, and when Roxas didn't make a move to shake his hand (he was still in shock), the brunet grasped hold of Roxas's hand firmly and shook it up and down, "You're new, aren't you?"

Roxas nodded slowly; he felt like his shoulder was going to be dislocated. "Y-yeah, I am."

The brunet grinned even wider, letting go of Roxas's hand. For that, the other was grateful. "I'm Sora."

Roxas moved his fingers; they felt twitchy. He was just making sure that they still had feeling in them, "I'm Rox—" He stopped himself in time, for he was going to say his real name, "I'm Rokusasu."

Sora's eyes widened, "Wooow. No, if your name was Sora too, that'd be amazing. Or maybe it could have been _my_ name spelt backwards. A…Aros. Aros? Haha, that sounds funny," Sora grinned, seemingly calmed down a bit, "Rokusasu sounds a bit long though. Don't you have any nicknames?"

Roxas hadn't thought about it, so he shook his head. He didn't feel like having a nickname for his fake name anyway. Before bubbly Sora could think of one for him, he piped up, "How'd you know I was new? Are you...old here?"

Sora moved his head left to right, "Nope, I'm a transfer student. But I know new kids like to come to the school early to check things out, so I figured you'd be new too. Plus, I know a few people around this city, and if there was someone out there that looked _almost identical _to me, I think some of my friends woulda told me," Sora peered at Roxas with a more careful scan, "But wow. You really _do _look like me. Are you sure you've never had a twin before? Or maybe we were separated from birth…that could work, right?"

Roxas laughed nervously, "I'm sure it's just the hair," It was half-true anyway. If it weren't for this wig, he'd probably look quite different from Sora. "And plus, your parents are probably alive."

Sora's eyes contracted in confusion, "What? Yours aren't?"

Roxas shook his head, a smile on his face. _Why was he smiling? _He didn't even understand. Why? If his parents were still alive, his life would have been better. Maybe he could have _gone _to this school instead of sneaking in. But the thought was funny, or so he thought, and plus, it was near impossible to pull off a frown or a sad face when he was with Sora. The other boy had such a happy aura around him.

Sora suddenly looked discomfited, "Oh, I'm sorry."

_Yeah…me too…_ "Don't be," Roxas said, smile still on his face. There was a sudden awkward silence between them…then abruptly,

"I HAVE A BROTHER!"

Roxas nearly jumped from the volume of Sora's voice, "Huh?"

Sora started to gush on and on about his older brother. Roxas was pretty sure he heard the name Leon in all of the words that Sora was desperately trying to cram out of his mouth. Roxas was barely paying attention. His eyes were fixed behind Sora, at the doors. There were students filing out from the school buses now. There were so _many _kids. Roxas suddenly felt quite small and self-conscious about how he looked. When Sora realized that Roxas was no longer paying attention to him, he whirled around to see that there was a stampede of kids heading for the doors.

"Oh, watch out," He grabbed Roxas by the arm and pulled him out of the way. Their backs met the lockers, but at least they didn't get trampled over. It suddenly got rather loud in the hallways too, and Roxas nudged Sora in the middle,

"Sorry. I didn't get to hear about your brother."

Sora waved it away with his hand, "Don't worry. He's not that much of an interesting topic anyway," He grinned foolishly before taking out a piece of paper from his yellow bag, "Locker number? Maybe we're together," He raised his voice a little in case he couldn't be heard.

"Maybe," Roxas murmured, trying to remember what Zexion had told him. As they mused over their locker numbers and what classes they had first, more and more people packed the hallways. Roxas was getting dizzy at the amount of black and white uniforms he was seeing. No one noticed that he was _Roxas DeRenzis _just yet, and he hoped that it would stay that way.

**8:10.**

It was seven minutes until class started. Roxas craned his neck over the tall people to try and get a glimpse of the locker numbers. They were rather far away from where Roxas's and Sora's lockers were; they were right beside each other. Thank God. At least Roxas had someone he sort of knew that would be close to him around the school.

Squeezing between students and whispering a few 'Excuse me's', they finally got through to a less-crowded hallway. Roxas made a mental note never to stand by the doors ever again. He found that the air was much stuffier there. He felt a small tug on his shirt and instantly, Roxas followed Sora as the boy lead him through the hallway. He seemed to know his way around here; perhaps he had studied a map before coming. Or he had friends that came here. Whatever it was, Roxas was glad.

He kept his head down, still paranoid about people actually finding out about who he really was. His side brushed against the locker doors as his eyes stuck like glue on Sora's shiny black shoes.

"Hey, everyone!" Someone wolf-whistled, and the hallway's volume dropped down a pitch so that they could hear what the person had to say. The said person started to break out into a half-song, half-shout, "_Here I am! I'm the one who makes me cum! __**MAKES! ME! CUM!**__"_

_WHAT? _Who'd actually say those lyrics out loud? Sure, it had been a nice voice, but…strange. Roxas turned his head to see who did it.

He crashed headfirst into an open locker.

There was laughter all around as Roxas held his little head, rubbing it to rid the pain. He had fallen down to the ground since he had walked into it pretty hard. He was careful in not pulling his wig off though. He also wasn't sure if the students around him were laughing at him, or the person's lyrics. He felt his face burning red with embarrassment.

Sora pulled Roxas up to his feet, "Are you okay?" He asked anxiously. Roxas nodded hurriedly, blinking his eyes and still trying to find the source of the voice.

It had come from a rowdy group of four on the other side of the hallway. The first thing Roxas noticed was their ridiculous hair. There was one boy with long, styled rose-colored hair, and he was laughing the most obnoxiously out of all of them. His loud laugh was echoing down the hall. There was another with silver hair, and his hair was almost as long as the pink-haired boy. He seemed most calm, but he was smiling rather slyly as his aquamarine eyes met with the redhead of the group.

The redhead's hair was the most extravagant out of the four of them. The roots of his hair were a deep shade of maroon, but the rest of his strands were fiery red. His hair reminded Roxas of the quills of a porcupine or of an urchin, though when the redhead leaned against the wall and laughed, his hair seemed rather soft and, well, it made Roxas want to touch it.

The only one with normal hair color was the only girl in the group. She was a blonde, though it was cropped short, slicked back, and her bangs made it look like she had two strange, little antennas. Her laugh was shrill. That was actually the only way Roxas could tell she was a girl. That, and by looking at her chest. Fleetingly.

It had been the redhead who had called out earlier with the vulgar lyrics. His friends were now high-fiving him and he had a playful smirk on his lips. His emerald eyes danced with amusement as they met with Roxas's blue orbs.

Roxas jumped as the redhead wolf-whistled again, and just as he started speed-walking away, he caught the name of said redhead.

"Way to go, Axel!"

* * *

**Le Notes~ **So I am actually doing my best not to make this overly dramatic and angsty. Trust me, okay? :D So that was the first scene with Axel and his gang. Introducing them, I mean. Iz okay, no?  
Thanks to all my reviewers. :'D I appreciate it lots. Love your reviews. (Psst. I don't like Hannah Montana either. Sorry, fans of MileyCyrus.) You guys are awesome though. Like, not even 30 minutes in, and ilovewriting23 reviews. Ily.

**For this fanfic, **I'm not actually updating this quickly all the time. It's only because I started this in the summer and I've only recently posted it. I have three chapters done, so once I post chapter three whenever I want to, don't expect chapter four to come out like *snaps fingers*. Y'know xD. Just a warning, anyway. I'm a slow updater when it comes to high school fics... maybe because this is my first one. Phail.

**Hope you like this so far. **I'm actually gonna try and keep up with this. **Review?**

* * *


	3. III

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Axel has raging hormones. And Marluxia is a bully. Nothing much in this chapter. Swearing, obviously. And maybe some fail grammar.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Notes:** _Sensory Overload: _Hooray for crashing into lockers! +1.

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. If they did belong to me or to every other fangirl here, Kingdom Hearts would no longer be at a safe rating, but probably like **RESTRICTED.**

**

* * *

III**

Roxas's head still hurt.

His first period class was Biology, and it was with a particularly snappy and moody teacher named Mr. Vexen. But the first few minutes of class were chaotic; there were students moving desks into clumps so that they could sit near each other and chat. Mr. Vexen hadn't arrived yet, so the class itself was rather loud. Roxas was standing quietly in the corner with Sora, observing his classmates with interest. Sora seemed to be scanning the room to see if there was anyone he could recognize. Just as he was about to give up…

"SORA?! IS THAT YOU?!"

A skinny brunette flung herself on Roxas, clearly knocking him off his feet. Roxas cried out as he fell to the ground, "Ah!"

The girl frowned, scrambling back up, "Wow. I thought you would have gotten used to my tackle hugs by now," Roxas stole a glimpse of Sora, who looked like he had been bracing himself for a cannonball launch. Maybe if Roxas had also known that the girl was going to do that, he wouldn't have fallen on his butt and made a fool of himself. He stammered,

"I'm – I'm not…"

"Kairi, _I'm _Sora," The brunet meekly raised his hand.

The girl named Kairi glanced at Sora, then slowly lowered her gaze to Roxas, who was still on the floor. Her eyes widened in shock, "Whoaaa! That's sooo weird! Since when did you have a twin, Sora?"

"Yeah, Sor, who's your twin?" Roxas glanced up at the hand in front of him and gladly took it, pulling himself up. The hand belonged to a blond boy with curious brown eyes. His hair stood up, clearly defying the laws of gravity and it looked tangly. The blond grinned, "I'm Hayner."

Roxas grinned, "Rokusasu. And yeah, I've heard that I look like him," He nodded his head at Sora. _These two seem okay…_

Sora smiled, "I know, right? But Rokusasu's not my twin. He's new here. This is Kairi," He jerked his thumb back at the girl, who continued to gawk at the space between Sora and Roxas. She closed her mouth, turning pink,

"I tackled the wrong guy…"

"Yup," Sora chirped happily, "But that's okay. I don't mind. Least you gave Roku a nice sort of welcome."

"Nice?" Roxas repeated weakly. But he didn't stop himself from smiling as he rubbed his backside. He was getting hurt an awful lot today. And what the hell? Now he had a nickname? It wasn't _so _bad, but that didn't stop him from glaring half-heartedly at Sora, "How do you know these two?"

Instead of Sora answering, Hayner piped up, "Oh, we used to be neighbors until Sora decided to ditch us and move. Olette and Pence are here too, but they have math first period," He made a face and Roxas took it as a sign that Hayner greatly disliked mathematics. Roxas didn't _hate _it. In fact, he liked to think that he was rather good at it. But maybe home schooling was different than it was at school.

"What school are you from?"

Roxas jerked himself out of his thoughts, "Eh?"

Hayner made a face, "I asked what school you were from. You're new, aren't you? I know practically all the grade elevens in this school and I've _never _seen your face before. Even Sora said so…" Kairi nudged him in the middle and he silenced himself.

"I've never…" Roxas looked confused, "I was homeschooled before I came here."

"OH, WOW, REALLY?!" Sora got all excited again. "How is that? Homeschooling, I mean. Is it easier?" Roxas shook his head; how would he know? He had nothing to compare it with. Class didn't even start yet. But that was when he noticed that a grouchy looking, long-haired blond had stepped into the room, binders under his arm. He slammed them down on his front desk with a resounding **BANG, **and _that_ got everyone to shut up.

The room became absolutely silent. The teacher, whom Roxas assumed was named Mr. Vexen, smirked with an arrogant air, "Alright," His voice was soft, but it was deadly all the same, "Everyone sit _down_."

Desks scattered in every opposite direction as students frantically put them back into straight rows. Roxas caught two empty seats near the middle and he tugged on the sleeve of Sora's shirt, indicating that they should sit there. Sora wasted no time in slipping away from his friends, who had also hurried to take their seats. They hastily sat down and kept their eyes on either the desk or the board. No one had enough courage to stare Mr. Vexen in the eyes. Roxas hoped that the rest of his teachers would be different.

Roxas raised an eyebrow when Mr. Vexen held out a bunch of yellow sheets, "Information sheets," He stated, "You have to fill them out, I'm sure you all know the routine by now. You're grade elevens. Don't waste my time by asking me silly questions," He took a quick scan around the room, "Hayner, hand these out," He dropped them on the table and started writing on the blackboard.

"Yessir."

Roxas gazed questioningly at Sora when the yellow sheet of paper was handed to him. He could see the words: **Surname, last name, address…**and so on. He supposed that he had to just fill it in; he didn't want to ask Sora and feel like an idiot afterwards. Biting on the back of his pen, he started to write his name.

_Shit…_ He had written Roxas instead of Rokusasu. Panicking, he started to rummage through his pencil case for white-out. When he could not find any (he had forgotten to pack one), he turned to Sora with a frantic expression, "Hey, do you have any white-out?"

Sora didn't even lift up his head. All the while he was writing, he used his other hand to pass his pencil case to Roxas. Gratefully, Roxas accepted it and took it out. He thanked the heavens. It would have been too early to get caught…especially for a silly mistake like that. He quickly scratched in his fake name. **Rokusasu Hale.**

For address, he wrote in Demyx's address. Pretty much for all his personal information, such as emergency contact, guardian/parent name, he put in Demyx's information. He was sure that Demyx wouldn't mind anyway; most of this information was going to be seen by the principal. Roxas couldn't help but have a little smirk on his lips. Then he got to the part where he had to fill in his schedule.

Sticking his hand into his bag, he found the slip of paper that Zexion had handed to him earlier and examined his schedule for the first time. He had heard of the term 'semesters' before, but it seemed that this school did _not _have semesters. Instead, the schedule was split into Day 1's and Day 2's. Four different classes one day, then the other four classes the next, and the days would alternate per day. Roxas blinked, a bit confused. This was going to take a while getting used to. Plus, he had no idea where the classes were.

Good thing he had a spare next at 9:25.

_Spare?_

He turned to Sora, "What's a spare?"

Sora peered over at his schedule and then scanned over his own, "Oh, a spare is like a lunch. You can do whatever you want in that time period. I have lunch then too! Sweet!" He took a double take on Roxas's paper, "Whoa, wait. You're taking history?"

Roxas nodded, a little more tentative than before, "Yeah, why?"

Sora wrinkled his nose, "Nothing. I don't like history."

Roxas grinned, though he was still thoroughly confused. _Ah well, _he thought to himself as he copied down his schedule onto the yellow piece of paper, _I'll just follow Sora out the classroom when it's lunch. It seems like he knows his way around here anyway._

"HAYNER, STOP _TALKING_ TO YOUR NEIGHBORS AND WRITE DOWN YOUR INFORMATION!"

Hayner ducked just in time to dodge a piece of chalk aimed for him.

"SIR, THAT'S NOT COOL!"

"Hayner, I've taught you for two years in a row. This is my third. Do not even _think _for a minute that I am glad to have you in my class _again_. You, my number one class disrupter."

Hayner pulled off a mockingly hurt look as Mr. Vexen smirked. The blond boy placed his hands over his chest where his heart was, "Oh, my heart bleeds from your words, sir. You know you love my jokes."

Roxas blinked; Mr. Vexen and Hayner_ sure _had a strange relationship. But the whole class started laughing. Roxas wasn't sure if he was supposed to be laughing along or not. Sora even cracked a smile.

Mr. Vexen, however, was not amused, "I don't think you'd appreciate me giving you a detention on the first day of school," At this, Hayner reddened and dropped his head, continuing to finish his sheet. Mr. Vexen snickered, "You're almost as bad as _Axel_."

_Axel. _There it was. That name again. The name of that redhead that had 'accidentally' made Roxas crash into the locker. He was almost sure that Axel had done it on purpose. What did it matter anyway? It wasn't going to be any time soon that he was going to see the redhead again. Maybe on the occasional second in the hallway, but Roxas doubted it.

The way that Mr. Vexen used Axel's name, Roxas was also certain that the redhead had quite the infamous reputation in this school.

Roxas was done the sheet, so he pushed it to the very front of his own desk. Mr. Vexen eyed him before striding over to pick it up. Roxas turned a little pink as his teacher started to read his information.

Was this really necessary?

Then without another word, Mr. Vexen dropped it on his desk and announced, "Whoever's done can just hand it in. We'll start off our lesson by just learning a few things about…" He droned on about species and genus. Roxas did his best to listen, but Sora nudged him in the ribs with a playful smile, mouthing the words: _You don't have to take notes. It's the first day. _He then proceeded to roll his eyes and lean back in his chair. Roxas just stared.

Mr. Vexen wasn't boring. He wasn't exactly interesting either. He just had this aura that made one want to listen. It was a feeling that made Roxas think that _if _he didn't listen, Mr. Vexen would come around to his table and smack down that meter stick onto his desk to wake him up. Therefore, he kept his eyes glued on his teacher.

Then the bell rang.

Had Mr. Vexen been talking for _that _long? Roxas hardly even noticed. He smiled; maybe classes wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Rokusasu, Sora, can I see you for a second?"

Roxas froze, as did Sora. He had some sort of shameful look on his face and Roxas had the impression that Sora thought that Vexen had caught him not listening to him teaching. Together, bashfully, they shuffled towards their Biology teacher's desk. Mr. Vexen raised an eyebrow, and came forth with an unexpected question,

"Which one of you is Sora and which one of you is Rokusasu?"

The two boys exchanged looks before cracking a smile. Their smile _could _have been identical as well, but Roxas didn't want to think about it. "I'm Sora," The brunet stated before pointing to Roxas, "He's Roku."

Vexen glanced down at the papers on his desk. Roxas noticed that he had Sora's and his out. "Yet you two have different last names…"

"We're not twins," Roxas didn't know how many times he would have to say this during the year. This was going to be tiresome. And he still had seven more classes to go, not to mention the students in that class too. Mr. Vexen gave him a strange look, a befuddled one, to be more exact. Sora grinned,

"We get that a lot, sir. You're not the first one," He glanced at the clock, "Are we allowed to leave now?" Everyone had left the classroom. Even Hayner and Kairi had ditched the classroom, since they did not have the same lunch as Sora and Roxas.

Mr. Vexen nodded slowly, as if he was still trying to register the simple fact that Sora and Roxas were _not _related, "You may go."

As the two brunets left the room, Sora sighed dramatically, "Wow, that's the third time today. Do I have any more classes with you? We're gonna get asked that question so many times today and tomorrow. And maybe for the rest of the year. Wow," He repeated, but he didn't seem ticked off about it. In fact, he seemed rather pleased about the idea of having a 'twin'. Roxas didn't mind. It was sort of fun.

"Where's the caf?" Sora asked Roxas, but then he grinned, "Oh, right. You're new. I'm new. Let's ask around."

"I thought you knew this place inside out," Roxas piped up, trying to catch up to Sora's fast strides. Sora shook his head, his brown hair swishing back and forth. The hallway was crowded, but not as much as it had been in the morning. People were switching in and out of their classes. Roxas craned his neck as if he were trying to find someone. He didn't even know _who _exactly he was trying to find.

He was _definitely _not trying to find Axel, that was for sure.

They had finally made their way into the cafeteria. There weren't too many students, and Sora explained that most of them would be in the library, since it was _way _too early to be eating lunch. Roxas agreed; he wasn't the least bit hungry.

But…he needed to go to the washroom.

He had been holding it in since the beginning of first period. He didn't want to interrupt Mr. Vexen for the sake of not getting in trouble, so now he _really needed to go. _He dropped his bag on the table just as Sora sat down and he said hastily, "I'll be right back. I gotta use the washroom."

Sora laughed, "Yeah, okay. I'll be here," He patted Roxas's bag, "I'll watch over this."

Roxas grinned, "Thanks," And then he rushed out the doors of the cafeteria. As soon as he had darted around the corner, he inwardly swore for not asking Sora about where the washrooms were. He was in no mood to go searching for the nearest one. Running about, he realized that he had just gone in a circle. Damn it.

_Oh._

There it was. He made a mad dash, sprinting towards it. Just as he was about to push open the door, he was blocked by a foot from the other side of the door. He stopped, looking up at a familiar face.

It was the pink-haired boy from this morning. He arched an eyebrow at Roxas, and then slowly, a scheming smirk spread on his face, "Hello."

"Hi," Roxas said a little too quickly.

The boy must have noticed that Roxas needed to go to the washroom, but he took his time in gazing intently at Roxas. He tilted his head to the side before drawling boisterously, "How may I help you?"

Roxas didn't like this. _Whyyyyy? _He whined inside his head. "I need to use the bathroom."

The boy shook his head, "No can do. This is the seniors' bathroom."

Roxas's jaw dropped. This guy has _got _to be kidding. This was so not fair. Roxas closed his eyes for a fraction of a second before snapping them open again. He didn't _care _if the boy wasn't going to let him in. He danced a little on the balls of his feet, "Please let me in! I really need to go!"

The pink-haired male smiled, but he continued to block Roxas's way, "Run up to the second floor. There's a bathroom up there."

Roxas crossed his knees and bit his lip, a pleading look in his eyes. _Bully…_ Just as the taller was about to say something, Roxas heard Axel's voice from behind, "Oh, let him in, Marley. You're going to make the poor guy pee his pants," There were soft chuckles, and then the pink-haired boy, Marley, stepped aside spectacularly. Roxas rushed in, only to be met with a cloud of smoke and he instantly started coughing.

Axel lowered his cigarette with a slightly worried glance at Roxas. The smoke cleared a little, but Roxas held his breath anyway. The four teenagers were sitting on the ground, and they were all waiting for Roxas to do something. He _had _come into the bathroom for a reason, didn't he? Hesitantly, Roxas strode over to the stalls and pressed the hand dryer button. He wasn't quite in favor of letting the group listening to him doing his business.

He didn't need to worry though. The moment he locked the stall door, they had started talking again. Marley was saying,

"So I know why Axel and Riku are here, but Larxene, why are you here? This is a _boys' _bathroom, and you're a girl."

Axel let out a gasp of surprise, "Wait! Larx is a _girl?!_" There was a dull slapping sound and Axel grunted in pain, "Ow."

"Oh, shut up, Axel."

"Oh, grow some breasts, Larx," Another hit, but this one was a lot harder. Larxene smirked,

"Thanks, Marluxia."

"You guys are bullies. Stop hitting me," Axel lifted his shirt sleeve and poked at his muscle, "Look. A bruise."

"You're such a liar, Axel, there's nothing there."

"Rikuuu~ Tell them to stop," Axel whined in a mocking voice, "They're hurting my feelings. I'm telling on you guys."

"There, there," Riku patted Axel on the back while waving away the smoke created by Axel's cigarette. Axel let the cigarette dangle at the corner of his mouth as he continued to playfully cling onto Riku's waist. The silver-haired boy looked like he was feeling just a little bit awkward and out of place. "Alright…Axel…"

Roxas flushed the toilet. He had been done a while ago, but he had been listening to the group's conversation. Thinking that he should leave, he opened the door and stepped over Axel's legs to get over to the sink. As he lathered the soap over his hands, he couldn't help but notice that their conversation had died down again and that they were now all staring at his back. Face flushing, he started to head for the door,

"Hey, wait."

Roxas froze in his tracks and whipped around, "Eh?" His voice cracked and Larxene snickered. Axel was gazing at him as he took another long drag on his cigarette. He patted down on the floor beside him. Roxas hesitated.

"What? You've got somewhere to go?"

Roxas's first thought jumped to Sora, who was probably still waiting for him, "No…it's my lunch. But…"

Axel waved his cigarette in the air, "I'll get rid of this if you like."

Again, Roxas kept silent for a while. What could possibly go wrong? He'll explain to Sora that he had been caught up in the bathroom. Anyway, it was a good chance to meet four new people. Also, Axel was getting rid of his cigarette. That must have meant something. Roxas shrugged, traipsing over beside Axel. The redhead tossed the dying cigarette into the garbage in one clean shot.

"Are you new here?"

Roxas nodded, still not trusting his voice. Axel nodded serenely, "Yeah, I knew it. I haven't seen you before. Grade?"

"Eleven," Roxas whispered.

"Oh, sick, really?" Marluxia grinned, "I would've thought you were grade nine or something. I would have let you come in earlier if you had said something."

Roxas's face fell, "Well, yeah…I'm small. What grade are you?"

"We're all in twelve," Riku answered for all of them.

Roxas's eyes widened as he stole a sideways glance at the redhead. Axel did _not _look seventeen. The redhead seemed to know what he was thinking because he shrugged with an air of indifference, "I know I look like I should be in University. No lie though. I'm seventeen, turning eighteen in a few months."

"We tell all the niners that Axel got pulled back two grades because he beats up new kids," Marluxia piped up eagerly.

Roxas blinked, "And is that true?"

Axel only smiled.

Now that Roxas was close to Axel, he could see that Axel's eyes were actually acid green, deep pools of liquid poison and they were incredibly intense. There were black tear-shaped tattoos under those green orbs, and those weren't the only tattoos on Axel's body. There were a number of tattoos on the redhead's arms and every time Axel flexed, the tattoos would stretch and dance a little on his muscular arms.

Inside the fiery depths of Axel's hair, there was a shimmer where the earrings pierced his ears. Roxas counted five on the left. He wondered how many there were on the right ear.

Axel's eyebrow rose as he caught Roxas staring, "What?" Roxas's cerulean eyes were back on Axel's arms, tracing his way through the matrixes of red and black designs, "You like 'em?"

Roxas cocked his head to the side, "They're cool." _I'm not allowed to have tattoos…_

Axel grinned, "I got more but—"

"I don't want to see you stripping to show him, 'kay thanks," Larxene muttered, covering her eyes with her hands. Marluxia laughed; he was now reading a magazine and Roxas did not know what he was laughing at. The magazine or Larxene?

"Is your hair actually like that or…"

Riku and Marluxia groaned into their hands as Axel shook his head, "No dye. All natural. I don't even use hair gel, believe it or not. No hair wax, no hairspray, no gel, you name all them chemicals and stuff; I don't use 'em. But yeah, no dye. None at all." A mischievous gleam flashed in his green eyes, "I can prove it."

Roxas was all kinds of confused until Axel stood up to unbuckle his belt. Right away, Roxas leapt back and shielded his eyes. Next second he knew, Axel was hooting with laughter and Roxas was feeling quite ashamed for having such a big reaction. They were all _boys _anyway. Marluxia was, again, laughing the loudest. He seemed to have his eyes on Roxas and he didn't know why. Was there something on his face?

Then…

"Hey," Marluxia said suddenly, as if just realizing something, "You're that guy that crashed into that locker this morning, right? When Axel was singing?"

Axel scoffed, "Naw. This isn't him. I swear the guy was blond."

Roxas's blood ran cold. What? How did Axel know? There must have been some mistake. Roxas's eyes darted wildly back and forth between Axel and Marluxia – should he say something? A small squeak escaped him as he cleared his throat anxiously, "Actually…yeah, it was me."

Axel and Marluxia stared at him, completely bewildered,

"Seriously?!" They exclaimed at the same time. Axel continued to gape at him, "But…wait, _what_? Oh, it must have been a trick of the light then. I could have sworn your hair was blond, not brown." A small smirk appeared on his handsome face, "How's your head?"

"Still hurts," Roxas lied, rolling his eyes. But at least they believed him now. They still didn't know he was a blond. Axel laughed and he made a move as if he were about to ruffle Roxas's hair. Roxas shied away a little, but Axel didn't advance. It seemed to have been instinct.

Marluxia snickered, "We've been doing that every year and _you're _the first person to have done that. Crash into a locker straight on, I mean. It was amazing." He and Axel high-fived each other again while Larxene continued to snicker. Roxas noticed that out of all them, Riku seemed to be the calmest. When he gazed questionably at Roxas, who had been staring at him, the boy shook his head and returned his attention to Axel.

Roxas decided that Axel had a really nice smile. He made a short mental note to make this redhead smile more often. He was actually considering walking into more lockers. That could work, couldn't it?

But then Marluxia had started talking again, "Man, he's so cute."

Larxene scowled, positively irate; Roxas had the notion that perhaps the two were dating. There was jealousy written all over her face, "Who?"

Marluxia handed her the magazine. Larxene made a face, "Oh, _him_," She wrenched it out of Marluxia's grasp and held it on her lap, staring at the picture. She looked like she wanted to tear out the picture and scratch out and vandalize the face until it was unrecognizable. She handed it to Riku, who had held out his hand so that he could also take a look. His thin lips curled as he laid his eyes on the picture, shaking his head.

Axel made grabby hands, "Can I see?"

Riku held the magazine against his chest, teasingly pretending to be overprotective about it, "No, you won't like it."

"Why not?" Axel demanded.

"Trust me. I know you so well. You won't like it."

"Shoooow meeeeee!"

Riku gave in, a smirk on his face. He showed Axel the picture, and Roxas stared at the picture…

Of himself.

Well, wasn't _that _a pleasant surprise?

His first reaction was to turn away, avert his eyes from the identical light blue orbs staring back at him through his picture. _Not _**that** _picture, _he thought inwardly to himself. The magazine had been from a month ago, when he was advertising a coat. Just the coat. He was also allowed to wear boots, but he had been quite embarrassed when he was informed that he was not going to wear pants. He had been told that it would emphasize his model legs, much to his disdain.

Good thing that white suede jacket was long enough to cover his…lower region.

His pose had been quite normal. He was just standing in front of a dark background, the lighting was perfect, but Roxas had to admit that this photograph was not one of his favorites. He looked too…_serious. _And a bit of a whore, though he didn't want to think of himself that way. Riku glanced at him,

"What do you think?"

Roxas raised and lowered one shoulder, eyeing his real name at the bottom of the picture, "Eh, he's okay, I guess…" It was so _strange, _talking about himself. He felt a little insecure, making sure that everything he said was generic so that he wouldn't be making any slip-ups. He watched carefully for Axel's change in expression; he was sure that he was going to get one.

Axel grabbed the magazine from Riku's hands and for a split second, Roxas actually thought that Axel was going to say something nice about it. But when he saw the redhead sneering, his heart sank and he _knew _that Axel was just _not _one of his fans. It didn't matter…did it?

"Oh my fuck," He pointed, not at Roxas DeRenzis, but at the jacket that he was modeling off. Roxas peered over Axel's shoulder to take a look, though he already knew what it looked like, "Imagine all the puppies they killed for_ that _hideous thing."

"Yeah, I told you that you wouldn't be happy," Riku rolled his eyes and Axel returned the favor by sticking out his tongue. Roxas was actually surprised that he didn't have a tongue piercing.

"You don't like him?" Roxas asked quietly, making sure the offense couldn't be heard in his voice. He also made sure that he was able to keep a straight face when Axel shook his head, sending the picture a look of bitter distaste,

"No. I don't really like him that much. He's such a whore."

The question _why _was on Roxas's mind like a heavy burden and it was bothering him like a weight on his heart. He supposed it was because he was so used to people liking him. He was always around the people he worked with and so this was probably his first time meeting someone who actually _didn't _like him. Roxas swallowed; he didn't like this feeling much.

Marluxia launched himself at Axel, causing Roxas to leap back in shock. He yanked the magazine out of Axel's hands with difficulty. He raised it victoriously in the air, waving it around like a flag, "Well, if you don't like him, give the magazine back to me. I'm reading it."

Axel rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "You mean, you're just looking at the porn pictures you have in there. God, if you weren't dating Larxene, I would have sworn you were a homosexual. I mean…just _look _at that _hair…_"

Marluxia flipped his hair over his shoulder, "Why, thank you." He hugged the magazine to his chest, "You may think Roxas DeRenzis is a slut, but I think he's a very _ka-yoot _slut."

Roxas had to take offense to this. He couldn't help it anymore. He frowned, a deep crease in his forehead, "Why do you think he's a slut?"

Riku shook his head once more, a sign that Roxas took as: Don't even get him _started. _But Axel was already talking, "Why? Oh, I don't know. Let's do a reenactment, shall we, Marley?"

Larxene grimaced, palpably not finding this funny, "This will be…interesting…"

Roxas didn't say anything to contradict Axel's words; he was actually curious about what this redhead thought about him. Now, he believed that it was a really good thing that Axel did not know about his true identity. It made Roxas giddy just thinking about it. Axel straightened up, brushing off the imaginary dirt off his pants. Marluxia had gotten up to his feet as well.

Axel started off by raising his voice into a falsetto, which Roxas assumed to be _his _own voice, "How would you like me to pose?" Axel batted his eyelashes. Roxas could feel a smile creeping onto his face. He couldn't stop it; it was automatic.

Marluxia had taken out his cell phone, wearing a smile that a pedophile would have on while talking to little children, "_Anything _you like, Roxas."

Axel ran his hand through his vermilion hair, sneaking a hand up his shirt as he tilted his head back, his eyes half-closing, "You want me to stand up?" He started leaning against the wall, sliding down little by little as he did, "Or would you like me to sit down?" Axel was using _quite _the seductive tone. Roxas was just about to tell him that he _wouldn't _be allowed to choose his pose, but he remembered that _Rokusasu_ had no experience in modeling. So he kept his mouth shut.

Marluxia grinned even wider, "Sit down, Roxas, sit down. C'mon, give me a sexy pose."

Roxas could have sworn that Axel was a model too. The way he lifted his chin up and the way he struck his pose was…well, amazing. Roxas felt like he was about to _drool. _Axel slid his hand down his neck, exposing the tender flesh of his ivory skin. Marluxia moved right to left, left to right, pretending to take pictures with his cell phone, "Come on~ Roxas, baby, you're gonna have to give me something sexier than that."

"Oh, I don't know what else I can give you…" Axel sang in an innocent voice. He bent his knees and spread his legs apart a little, "How about this?" Roxas could feel his ears burning; he knew he was blushing _hard. _

So what if sometimes he was told to spread his legs apart? That didn't make him a slut…did it?

Marluxia licked his lips, "Roxas, open your leeeeegs! Come on!" He pretended to click the camera.

Axel touched his lips with his forefinger in a sensual manner before stretching his legs out even further. Roxas hid his expanding smile with his hands, but Axel just continued making dirty noises and comments like '_ahh'_ and '_oh, you want me to do _what _with my legs?'_ And all Roxas could think of was:

_**Noooooo! I don't do thaaaaaat!**_

But Axel was done spreading his legs apart. He had leapt up to his feet, scrabbling over to where Marluxia was standing. The pink-haired boy seemed quite surprised when Axel placed his hand on the cell phone and lowered it, leaning his face in, "Do I look good?" Axel asked, tilting his head to the left side, "Do I look good enough so that you wanna fuck me?"

Marluxia had only started to open his mouth when Axel shuffled to the side where Larxene was sitting. He settled himself down beside her, draping an arm over her shoulder. She looked livid, and she sniffed, turning her head away as he said, "Hey, babe, your place or mine?"

Larxene didn't even answer him. She just thrust a fist up his stomach, earning a drawn-out groan from him. He toppled dramatically over to the side and lay there for a while. Roxas allowed a short laugh escape his mouth, "Ouch," Axel grinned at Riku and Roxas, "I just got re-_jected_," As he got up to his feet once more, Riku frantically shook his head, a dark glare in his aquamarine eyes,

"Don't even _try _coming near me. You want a broken nose?"

Axel smirked, "Riku, baby, I thought we had something."

"Key word: _had._"

Roxas wondered if that was really true.

The next thing that Riku said caught Roxas off guard. It was like a car hitting him at full speed, and he didn't even say anything to reject it. "Go rape _him _instead_,_" Riku nodded at Roxas. Roxas's face changed to an expression that fully screamed: _**WHAT?**_

The feeling of Axel's lean, hard body against his was too sudden. Axel's bony fingers grappled around Roxas's skinny wrists and he pulled them up so that they were on either side of Roxas's head as he pinned the boy to the wall. All Roxas could get out was a dumb sound: "Uh…" And Axel smirked. Roxas was also pretty sure that Axel was making awkward thrusting motions with his hips as well. Riku started laughing,

"Oh god, Axel, you're such a freak. You're scaring him and it's his first day at this school."

"Don't be jealous. I'm just havin' a little fun with him," Axel smiled, "After all, who wouldn't want to hang out with me, the _famous _model, Roxas? It's not my fault I'm just so damn fuckable."

"I wouldn't," Roxas heard someone growl, and then he realized it had been him. Axel raised an eyebrow, but Roxas continued to speak, a leering smile on his lips, "Entice me," He yanked his hands down, hard enough so that they slipped easily through Axel's grip. He then proceeded to duck under Axel's arms and tried whizzing past him.

He wasn't nearly as fast as he thought. Axel had caught onto his wrist yet again and pulled him back towards him. Roxas was glad that his face was against Axel's chest and away from their spectators. He was blushing rather hard from being this close to another guy. It wasn't that he had feelings for the redhead. It was just…Roxas being Roxas.

"Aw, he's playing with me," Roxas could hear Axel snickering above him. He wished he weren't so short. _No, Axel's just too tall… _Roxas clarified.

Axel let go of Roxas, but he swung the boy over to his side and with his arm over his shoulder, he meshed Roxas's body against his. He was using his own voice again, "So, enough Roxas this, Roxas that. I'm getting tired of acting like him."

Roxas didn't even bother telling him that the model Roxas would _definitely _not act like that. But there was no point. Axel had his mind set.

He felt Axel squeezing his shoulder tightly and he flinched against his lean body once more, "What's your name, kid?"

Perhaps it was because they had just been talking about _Roxas DeRenzis_ that made Roxas say this. The words had just sprung into his mind automatically, and the way Axel was looking down on him, with those intense green eyes, made his mind go blank. He should have recollected his thoughts to think of a proper answer, but it was too late now. He parted his lips and without a second thought, he blurted out,

"Roxas."

* * *

**DUNDUNDUNNNNNN. :D**

**Notes: **Haha, phailtastic. First slipup. **ALSO: **I editted the first chapter. Apparently, abusive Sephiroth was a little bit too cliche. Well...now I made it so that he "hadn't ALWAYS been abusive." A bit better, I hope. He's a better person than Roxas gives him credit for ;~;

**Roxas: **I gave myself away already?  
**His Last Walk: **Yep.  
**Axel: **Fail.  
**His Last Walk: **Yep. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to fix it, Roxy.  
**Roxas: **Yeah, well, hurry up and update so I _can. _-glares-

I'm trying! I really am. I'll write and write and write. And this chapter was too long. I think it was a turn-off. Blah.

My mind lacks imagination at most times, but I'm sure I'll think of something. Next update will be next Thursday, I suppose. **Reviews are super duper awesome and they also make my day. **But you already know that ;) That's what you hear from most people, anyway. I'm not different. I am very...greedy. I admit it! But I iz asking nicely, no? :D I mean, it's not like I'm holding a weapon to your throat or anything...heh... -hides chainsaw behind back-

**Review? :D**


	4. IV

**Summary: **All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular redhead to make things a little complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** None really. It's **yaoi. **Edited version ~

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me.

* * *

**IV**

The group stared at Roxas with blank expressions. Roxas was blinking stupidly at their astounded faces until he suddenly realized what he had just said. For what seemed like hours, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and the words that he wanted to say would _not _come out. It wasn't until he saw Axel scowl in annoyance that he started speaking up rather quickly,

"Oh!" His ears were burning. He knew that he was probably bright pink in the cheeks right at this very moment. This was so not good. He tried to cover up his mistake, but everyone's _eyes _were on him. Awkward… "I-I mean…" _HOW DO I DO THIS?! _With a weak sort of attempt, he started to laugh, "I'm _joking!_ Man, you should take a look at your faces. My name's Rokusasu. I was just messin' with you guys." _Please buy it, _he begged inwardly.

"Really?" Axel's voice was quiet. Roxas's head bobbed up and down quickly as he nodded. He wasn't sure if the redhead was going to believe him or not.

Marluxia cocked his head to the side, "Well, now that you mention it, you _do _look like a Roxas," He squinted at him, "Even like this…you kinda look like—"

"No, I don't," Roxas grinned, "But I hear that a lot." Even so, he glanced away. He couldn't let Marluxia recognize him _now_…that would ruin _everything. _ He heard Axel's voice snap,

"C'mon, man. Do you really think Roxas wants to be compared to _that _Roxas?" The smaller boy felt himself being pressed into Axel's side even more. His jaw dropped down, making an 'o' with his mouth. Did Axel just call him _Roxas_? As in, his real name _Roxas_? No, he didn't think he was the model, but… he didn't call him Rokusasu either…

Axel noticed his silence, "You don't mind me calling you Roxas, do you?" Just as Roxas was about to answer, _'No, not really'_, Axel started going on, "It'll be different. No one calls you Roxas, I bet. Maybe I can call you Roxy too. I promise I won't get you mixed up with the other one. It's highly unlikely."

Roxas glanced up, "Really?" _Seriously…? You don't see **any **resemblance at all?_

Axel narrowed his eyes as he studied Roxas's face, making the other turn away yet again. He felt like he was going to have to do this every time someone was staring at him. But he felt Axel shaking from silent laughter. When Roxas looked back up into his green eyes, he was shaking his head, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, really. Roxas it is. Roxas…"

"Hale," Roxas provided eagerly. _That was close…So I'm good…for now…_

"Roxas Hale," Axel confirmed. "OKAY! From now on, I'm the only one that can call you Roxas!" He pumped his fist into the air, earning many more eye rolls from his friends.

"You're so childish sometimes."

"And _you're_ so damn whiny sometimes."

Riku and the rest were silent for a bit, and then Axel pointed at himself, beaming down at Roxas, "Don't you want to know _my_ name?"

Oh, yeah. Axel hadn't properly introduced himself. Roxas already knew his name, but he decided to humor the redhead a little bit,

"What's your name, then?"

All his friends averted their gaze as if they were already prepared for Axel's speech. Axel grinned, pointing to himself, "The name's Axel. Got. It. Memorized?" He beamed, expecting Roxas to have some sort of expression, but the boy's face remained unfathomable. Roxas blinked once, twice. Axel's face fell in disappointment, "I'd like an answer."

A flash of anger – or amusement – crossed Axel's green eyes. Roxas gulped, "Y-yes. Memorized."

Axel's grin widened, "I was just kidding. Ya don't have to get so scared," He pointed at his friends, going in order, "That's Marley, or Marluxia, but we call him Marley. He's got this secret homo side in him, but he doesn't like to talk about it. Riku, my silver-haired boyfriend, and that blonde _boy_ in the corner, is Larx. You can come in here any time at your lunch; we're always here." Axel ducked just in time to see Larxene's shoe flying at him. He straightened up,

"_That _almost hit me."

"Scared I'll ruin your pretty face?" Larxene scowled, but there may have been some feinted glee hidden in her voice. Axel raised his free hand and touched the side of his face gently. He smirked,

"Maybe."

"You want my lip gloss, Axie? Make yourself all pretty before the bell rings?" Larxene leered, reaching for her bag. The redhead's eyes narrowed threateningly and his voice lowered,

"Axie?"

Roxas assumed that the redhead did not like to be called that, though he didn't really understand why. He thought the nickname was…cute.

"Call me 'Axie' _one_ more time," By now, there was a smile on Axel's face, but it was dangerous all the same. Roxas couldn't tell whether or not he was being humorous or serious. He tried side-stepping away from the taller, but Axel had a pretty good grip around his shoulder. But Larxene was done teasing Axel. She held out her hand,

"Shoe, please," The shoe was tossed over, and she caught it, slipping it back onto her foot. Marluxia and Riku must have noticed the tension in the room because all of a sudden, Riku raised his voice,

"Hey, Axel, you're gonna hog Roku all to yourself now?"

Axel grinned, the anxiety from before disappearing within the second, "Hell, yeah." He nuzzled the top of Roxas's head with his chin, considering his tall height. Roxas frowned, tilting his head to the side a little. If Axel was always this friendly with others…

"Aren't you and Riku dating?" He suddenly asked.

Bewildered, the redhead responded, "What?"

"Didn't you just say…Riku's your boyfriend?"

Axel threw his head back in a short bark of laughter, and even Riku started smiling. "No, I was just kidding. That was a long time ago."

_So it **had **happened…but it was a long time ago._

The door to the washroom swung open and Roxas allowed his eyes to swing over to the right. Sora was standing there by the door, his eyes wide and on Roxas. Roxas's face flushed; he knew what he looked like right now. He was being embraced by Axel from behind and really, he wasn't doing anything to break away from it. In Sora's hand was Roxas's bag, and it fell to the ground with a dull _thud._ Sora started backing away,

"Oh, you're busy," His voice sounded hurt. "I just thought…well…since you weren't coming back…" He nodded down to the bag, "There it is. Bye…" With a small wave of his hand, he walked backwards hastily out of the washroom. Roxas's jaw was dropped; he couldn't even say anything.

Riku had a strange sort of look on his face, "Your brother?"

Roxas shook his head, his thoughts clicking back together, "No," He tried to wriggle out of Axel's grasp. It was hard at first, since Axel's fingers were very unrelenting, but when Axel noticed that there was something wrong, he let go of Roxas. The boy bowed his head, heading for the door, "I'll be right back, I promise," He even let his bag there as he ran after Sora.

"SORA!" The brunet was nowhere to be seen. Roxas lowered his voice; there were still classes going on, but he really wanted to find his friend. He felt awful; he knew he had forgotten about Sora because he was so busy being with Axel's group. He didn't want Sora to get the wrong idea. He took a wild guess and started running right. He saw a flurry of brown hair disappearing around the corner and he picked up his pace. He didn't even notice the red, pink, silver, and yellow blurs behind him as he ran.

"SORA! Wait up!"

The brunet turned around, his eyes still full of hurt. They widened as he saw Roxas. The boy skidded to a stop in front of Sora, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, "What is it?" He asked.

Roxas took a deep breath. Before he could say anything, a teacher slammed the door open and yelled,

"KEEP IT QUIET! I'M TRYING TO TEACH A CLASS!!"

"Sorry!" Roxas squeaked an apology. The teacher sent him a dirty look before closing the door again. The boy then turned to Sora, who was patiently waiting for Roxas to start talking, "Okay, I know I left you in the cafeteria, but…" Roxas sighed. How was he supposed to start this? Apologizing was a bad move, because that would mean that Roxas would admit that he did something wrong. Plus, Roxas didn't feel like saying sorry anyway.

Sora brushed his chestnut brown hair out of his eyes, "Yes…?" He actually seemed interested in what Roxas wanted to say.

Roxas paused for a bit, and said the only thing that he assumed would be proper at a time like this, "Come join us?"

Sora's eyes widened even more until they were as big as saucers; he was definitely taken aback. "Huh?"

"I mean, I only intended to go to the bathroom but then they were in there and they told me to join them and I couldn't refuse. I'm sure they won't mind either if you came along."

Sora shook his head, still perplexed as to what was going on, "No, I mean, I wouldn't _mind _but I just thought that…maybe you really didn't like me…and that's why you didn't come back. I thought I had done something wrong or…" His voice trailed off, seemingly lost.

Roxas shot him a look, "No. You didn't do anything wrong."

"…Really?"

"Really."

Sora became quiet, and for some reason, Roxas started to think that maybe there were people behind him. He could hear faint murmurs and snickers behind, but when he turned around to check, no one was there. Weird.

"What about the guy? The guy you were with?"

Roxas turned back towards Sora, "What _about_ him?" He supposed he was talking about Axel.

"You guys were hugging and everything. I thought maybe you two were going out and that maybe you two just wanted some alone time or—" Sora's voice broke off when Roxas's hand flew up to his hair, raking a hand nervously through it. He knew he was blushing again.

"No…no, no… We're not…" He cleared his throat, "We just met. I mean, he's cool…but we just met, you know?" This was sounding ridiculously silly. "We're not dating, and in case you didn't notice, there were other people in the washroom," He concluded with finality, firmly.

Sora stared foolishly, "Oh."

Roxas tugged on the end of Sora's shirt, "Now, come on. They're probably waiting for us," As he was about to turn around, he heard a lot of pattering footsteps going in the other direction. A sudden suspicion occurred to him, but he let it go. Half-dragging Sora behind him, he started for the door again. The door…was swinging back and forth as if a bunch of people had just rushed in. Roxas rolled his eyes, pushing the door open,

"I'm back."

The group seemed out of breath, and that concluded Roxas's suspicions. They had followed him out. All of them were sitting in a different area, different position, and they looked as if they had just gone to a track meet. Axel was holding the stitch in his chest, attempting weakly to smile. He seemed to be the most out of breath, "Hey," He was smiling at Roxas first, then Sora. Did that mean he could actually tell them apart?

"You two…aren't brothers?" Riku's puzzled voice broke the silence.

Sora shook his head slowly, "Nope. We're not even related. It's just—"

"The hair," Roxas finished off, grinning from ear to ear.

Marluxia and Larxene exchanged glances, but neither was brave enough to ask who was who. Riku stared hard at Sora, then at Roxas. He pointed at Sora, "Roku…" Then he pointed at Roxas, "Who…no, wait. Other way around. You're Roku, and you're…Sora?"

Sora's blue eyes widened, "How'd you know?"

"Well, if he's Roku, then you're obviously—"

"Nonono, I meant, how'd you know my name? We've never even met before," Sora's eyes were filled with awe. Roxas had the impression that maybe Sora was thinking that Riku was a magician of some sort.

"I—uh—" Axel threw Riku a silencing glare; they weren't supposed to let the two boys know that they had been stalking Roxas out the washroom. Riku rolled his eyes at the redhead, flipping him the middle finger, "I've got magic powers."

Roxas didn't know if Sora believed him or not, but a wide smile spread on his face, "Oh, really? Cool!"

"Very cool," Axel smirked, "He's got tons of tricks up his sleeves. Better be careful, Sora." Marluxia and Larxene snickered behind their hands, but Sora took no notice of them. Marluxia flipped his hair over his shoulder,

"Now…as we were saying before we were kindly interrupted by our lovely little, brown-headed friend here," He nodded to Sora, "…What _were _we talking about anyway?"

Axel shook his head, sitting down on the ground, "I don't remember," A split second later, he snapped his fingers, an imaginary light bulb lighting up over his head, "Oh! I remember. We were talking about…" He waited for dramatic effect, "Sex."

"What?!" Roxas protested, "No, we weren't!" Sora let out a little squeak that may have been a small laugh.

"We sooo were," Axel reached up and tugged Roxas down, "C'mere you," Roxas lost his balance and fell onto Axel's lap. He struggled against him, but it was futile. Roxas was tangled in a mess of arms and limbs as Axel rocked him back and forth playfully, "There was me…you…the locker room after school…"

Sora's eyes became round once more.

"Ngnn, Axeeel, let me goooo!" Roxas laughed when the redhead started tickling him. His friends were perturbed by the sight, but they didn't say anything. Riku made a mockingly annoyed face, as did Larxene, but Riku was the one who spoke up,

"Axel, get a room."

"Ehh, fuck off, Riku." Axel prodded Roxas on the side again and the boy squirmed, laughing uncontrollably and gasping for breath. Riku made another face,

"You're going to kill him."

"Roxas—oof!" Roxas had lackadaisically punched Axel in his lower abdomen, "Alright, I'll stop, I'll stop."

Roxas just stayed on Axel's lap, remaining limp for he knew it was useless to try and get out of this one. His mouth was a straight line, pretending to be disapproving, but when Axel's hand started to brush by his hair, he could faintly feel his lithe fingers massaging through his wig. It felt…_nice_. Though he knew he'd much rather prefer Axel doing that to his _real _hair. Normally, he wouldn't allow someone else to touch him like this, but again, Axel wasn't making skin-to-skin contact, so Roxas was fine.

"Do you have MSN?"

Marluxia gazed questionably at the two brunets. Sora shook his head while Roxas raised a confused eyebrow, "What's em-ess-en?"

"Instant Messenger," Axel replied, "Some chat thing. It's like email, but faster. I never go on it. Waste of time." He twirled an ink pen around his fingers skillfully; Roxas stared. How did he _do _that? Roxas felt a surge of jealousy. "But you have a number, right?"

Roxas nodded – he had Demyx's number handy, "Yeah, I do."

Axel searched for a blank space on his tattooed arms, "Uh…" He handed the pen to Roxas, and then held out his hand, "Write tiny," Roxas smirked as he held the pen tightly in his right hand. Writing as small as he could, he wrote down Demyx's digits. Secretly, Axel glanced over at Riku, then muttered out loud,

"Sora, yours too."

"Oh…okay…"

As the two boys finished writing their numbers on the back of Axel's hand, Axel took the pen back and stuffed it into his back pocket, "Alrighty. Thank you." Roxas played with his wristband absentmindedly as he wondered what Axel wanted with his phone number. Prank calling, perhaps. He felt a hand on his head and he realized that Axel was petting him again. Roxas rolled his eyes, but he allowed him to do so.

"What am I, your dog?"

Axel shrugged, "Dogs are submissive." He dropped his tone to a husky whisper, "Are you?"

"W-what?" Roxas nearly snapped back up, but Axel's hand kept him on the redhead's lap, "N-no! You're a pervert…" He hid his face behind his hands, embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah…you could be straight," Axel's hushed voice made it to Roxas's right ear. Roxas stiffened, but before he could tell the redhead that he actually was_ not…_

**_BBRRIIIING!_**

The bell rang. Roxas felt himself being hoisted up to his feet, Axel's strong hands under his arms. All of a sudden, Roxas felt…empty. Or cold. Axel's warm body was no longer against his, and he wasn't very pleased at all about that. But he didn't let his dissatisfaction show. Axel yawned into his hand,

"Great…I got chemistry next."

Marluxia was facing the mirror, attempting to fix his already-fixed hair, "I've got…art with Larx." He started bursting out into laughter, "Hey, that sorta rhymes. Larx. Art. Larx. Art. La-- Ow!"

"Shut up, Marley," Larxene brushed her lips against Marluxia's cheek, smirking slightly, "You talk too much. Let's go."

_What an abusive girlfriend…_ Sora and Roxas thought at the same time as the couple left the bathroom hand in hand.

"What do you have next?" Axel asked despite himself. He was never really interested in other people's schedules, but for some reason, he just felt that he had to ask. Roxas thought for a moment, but he couldn't remember. Taking out his schedule, he handed it to Axel. The green eyes flickered up and down as he took in the boy's time table. Riku peered over Sora's shoulder to read _his._

"Eh, English with Saix," Axel ran his tongue along his bottom lip; it was really making Roxas mad how there was no tongue piercing. Axel _had _to have a tongue piercing. It would fit him perfectly! "He's okay, I guess. All he does during class is read and read and lecture. He hates me though. I'd sit at the back if I were you, by the way. So he doesn't call you out randomly."

"Oh," Roxas nodded…gratefully? Was this advice? "Thanks."

Axel nodded, distracted, as he moved down the list. His eyes brightened, "You take history too?"

Sora and Riku instantly glanced up from their piece of paper, "Ewwww."

Roxas grinned, "Yeah."

Axel smiled, bearing his canine teeth, "So I guess I have you first period tomorrow."

"What? But I thought you were in grade twelve…"

"Classes were too small this year," Axel started to explain, "Not enough people from both grades were taking history, so they decided to combine the two," He bopped Roxas on the nose with the piece of paper, "We'll be learning the same things anyway, so why not?"

"Oh," Roxas said for what must have been the tenth time today. He had lost count. "Okay."

"Sit beside me," Axel winked, handing the schedule back to Roxas. He caught the fluttering piece of paper with both hands and watched as the redhead dragged Riku out the door, "We'll see you two around!"

Roxas and Sora exchanged looks. Sora opened his mouth, "Well, they're…"

"Interesting…" Roxas finished off. There was an awkward silence in the washroom and all they could hear was the bustling of lockers and students outside the washroom as they made their way to their next classroom. "I kinda like them."

"Me too."

Roxas picked up his bag, "Well, we should get going."

"Yep, we're gonna be late if the—"

**_BBRRIIIING!_**

"—second bell rings…" Sora finished off, sticking the palm of his hand to his forehead.

_First day of school and I'm already late for my second class. Joy to the world._

_

* * *

**His Last Walk: **_Yay! I edited it because, well, thanks to _**InoWaterDemon47,**_ she suggested that I should change the excuse a little bit. Heh. So, yeah, thanks to her ~ I forget what I put in my AN last time for this chapter, but it doesn't matter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter ~


	5. V

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Swearing...-scrolls down- Oh, that's it. D: I'm trying to make the plot move at a medium pace.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts duzzn't belong to me. D:

**

* * *

**

**V**

Since he had been late for biology, Roxas had no choice but to sit at the front. The first class was fine, since all they did was fill out information sheets again. Saix did nothing but prop his feet up onto his desk and watch the students with his hawk-like eyes. Sora was not in this class, and Roxas was left by himself for the entire period. No one spoke to him; in fact, no one dared to speak. They all seemed too terrified to even open their mouth in front of this blue-haired teacher. Roxas did his best to avoid eye contact with Mr. Saix.

The rest of the day was rather…less chaotic than it was in the morning. Roxas saw Axel a few times in the hallway, but the redhead was always talking to someone, laughing about something, and never seemed to see Roxas standing near him. Not that the boy minded…

But he figured that he liked it when Axel's attention was on him, even though the redhead hated Roxas DeRenzis…and had constantly yet unintentionally made fun of him all throughout the lunch period. For some reason, he didn't mind it. At least Axel didn't _know _the entire truth…

It wasn't until the end of the day that Roxas caught sight of Sora again. The brunet grinned at him, spinning the lock on his locker. "What's up, Roku?"

Roxas shrugged, shoving a few binders into his locker, "Okay day," He pushed his tongue to the side of his mouth, "What about you?"

Sora grinned, "It was okay too, but you were right. They _are _interesting," By 'they', Roxas supposed that Sora was talking about Axel's group. "I had music with Riku last period. He's really funny, did you know that? And he's really nice too," Sora closed his locker with a resounding slam. Roxas didn't answer, but he smiled anyway. For lack of anything else to say, he asked,

"What instrument do you play?"

"Clarinet," Sora made a face, "My parents made me take it when I was younger, and music pretty much boosts my marks up. Might as well play something I'm familiar with. Riku plays tenor sax though. He's really good," Sora beamed.

His locker got stuck and wouldn't close. Roxas tried pulling back again but the door was lodged in there and definitely fixed. He yanked back hard again, but the door didn't budge. Roxas sighed; great, locker problems already. Sora noticed, and he was just about to jump in and help when a shadow towered over Roxas from behind.

"Need help?"

Roxas whirled around, only to come face to face – or rather, face to chest with Axel. Roxas backed up so that he could see Axel fully. He was wearing a wide grin, "Hey, Roxas.'

Roxas jumped at his name, but then he remembered that that was what Axel was _supposed _to call him. He relaxed a little bit again, but he kept his straight face on. "Hello."

"Having locker problems already?" Axel tapped the locker with his lithe fingers. It was obvious that Axel had been watching him struggle. Roxas nodded dutifully.

"What does it look like?"

Axel smirked, "Locker problems," He answered, flicking his finger at the door again, "Nah, I had this locker last year. Sucked. I'd tell you to get it switched, but they won't allow that. Sometimes it works fine, on other days, it just acts really gay," Axel jerked his head to the side and Roxas moved over. "Here's how you take care of it."

He threw his shoulder at the locker and the door slammed shut. Roxas blinked at how easy Axel made it look, but then again, he was a lot smaller than the redhead. He pulled an exasperated face, "I'm not as strong as you, Axel. I can't do that every day! I'd dislocate my shoulder."

Axel laughed, "Then maybe I should come visit you every time and fix it for you."

Roxas couldn't help the smile spreading on his lips, "Sure. I wouldn't mind."

Though Axel had made the action of throwing himself at the locker really simple and easy, Roxas noticed that when Axel thought that he wasn't looking at him, he started to rub his shoulder with a pained expression on his face. And whenever Roxas would turn back to face him, Axel would straighten himself back up and pretend that he had been doing nothing with his usual airy cockiness. Roxas found it hilarious.

"Axel, you're gonna miss the bus!" A blond boy yelled out from across the hallway. Axel turned his head and waved with his left hand, grinning from ear to ear,

"Yeah, Tidus, I'm coming, I'm coming. I'll be there in a sec. Tell the damn driver I'll be there!" He turned back to Roxas, "Damn neighbor. He's always bugging me around school now that he's in the same building as me," He rapped his knuckles against Roxas's locker again, smirking; "I'll see you around, kay?"

Roxas inclined his head ever so slightly, "Bye."

Axel grinned, and just as he started stepping backwards to leave, he said, "Friends, right?" Roxas nodded; he wasn't in the mood in passing up friends. And Axel seemed alright. The redhead's smile widened, "Okay. Let's fuck later. Bye!"

Roxas wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"Are you going on the bus?" Sora tapped Roxas on the shoulder.

"Bus?" Roxas repeated, puzzled, "Oh, bus," His fifth period teacher had gotten a call from the principal, telling her to tell Roxas which bus he was supposed to take home. "I'm on Bus 017."

Sora's eyes brightened, "Same here! And Riku's on that bus too!"

Roxas was starting to wonder why Sora kept bringing up Riku's name. Maybe Riku really _was _that nice. He decided that he would try and get to know that silver-haired male even better. He locked his locker before following Sora out the door. He had to snap his attention back to the brunet because Sora had started talking again.

"Don't sit too far up the front, 'cause that's where all the niners go. Then behind them are the grade tens. You don't wanna sit at the very back either, because that's the grade twelve's property. So just sit near the middle near the back…if that makes any sense."

Roxas made a face, "You actually have those kinds of rules for a _bus_?"

Sora shrugged, "That's just the way it is."

Roxas rolled his eyes and as the two of them stepped onto the bus, Roxas had to duck his head to dodge a sharp, paper airplane flying towards his head. Someone from the back called out a hasty 'SORRY!' and then there was a burst of laughter. The driver scowled, turning his head back,

"AXEL! I _said _no more paper airplanes this _morning! _Or did you not hear me? Do you want me to call your parents?"

_Axel's on this bus too? _Roxas thought incredulously. This was getting out of hand. It was like the redhead was following him everywhere. Or was it the other way around…?

Axel's acid green eyes met with Roxas's, as did Riku's. The redhead grinned and waved, "Hey, you're on this bus too?" Roxas was just about to answer when the paper airplane flew back from the grade nine aisles. Axel glared at the blond near Roxas, "Tidus, you jackass. Are you trying to poke someone's eye out?!"

Axel's short blond neighbor put his hands on his hips in a childish way, "So it's okay when _you _do it?"

Roxas hastily followed Sora down the aisle and sat next to the brunet. Sora did a tiny wave in the direction of the silver-haired male, but Riku was too busy trying to wrench the paper airplane from Axel's hands. "Paper's not good with you, Axel, you know that."

"What? But I don't have my matches with me right now and my lighter is in my pocket."

"Yet somehow, your homework always seems to catch on fire on the bus. Give me the airplane, Axel, and no one gets hurt."

Sora rolled his eyes, amused. Roxas smiled as well; he supposed that Axel's excuse for not doing his homework would always be 'Sir, my homework caught on fire.'

"Which stop are you getting off at?"

Roxas blinked, "Probably the first one. I live about ten minutes away from here."

Sora made a skeptic face, "And you're taking the bus? Why not just walk or get someone to drive you here?"

"_Trust me. _You'd never want Demyx driving you to school. Ever."

* * *

The bus stopped ten minutes later. Roxas had slumped down on his seat, eyes blinking heavily as he did his best not to fall asleep. It was incredibly loud, mainly because Riku and Axel and a few other seniors were joking around at the back, but Roxas was so tired that he just wanted to sleep on Sora's shoulder. But there was no point. He was already home. Side-stepping out of the seat, he waved to Sora,

"I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See you!" Sora grinned, shuffling over so that now he was beside the window. Just as Roxas was about to turn around again, he heard his name being called again,

"See you tomorrow, Roxas!"

A few of the kids turned around as if they thought that Axel had meant _Roxas DeRenzis_, but they all swiveled back around in disappointment when they found out Axel was talking to the 'brunet'. Roxas froze, then a small smile and faint tinge of pink appeared on his face, "Bye, Axel."

Stowing his hands into his pockets, he jumped out and watched as the bus sped off down the street. So his first day didn't go _too _bad. He had met Sora, and he had met a rowdy group of seniors who he assumed they considered him as a friend. He wasn't too sure about Larxene, but he was pretty sure that the rest of them liked him. Especially Axel…

Shaking the thought out of his head, he started up to the elevator of Demyx's apartment. No sooner had he stepped through the door, Demyx had thrown himself at Roxas, "HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, ROXY?!"

Roxas's shouts of protests were muffled against Demyx's t-shirt as the blond started to suffocate him in a tight hug. When Demyx noticed that Roxas wasn't responding as quickly as he should be, he let go. The first thing Roxas did was gasp for air.

"Oh…my…god…you're trying…to kill me…Demyx…"

Demyx grinned, pulling Roxas towards the couches and the sofas, setting him down on the red one. "I was at home nearly half-scared to death. I was just watching the phone all day, waiting for it to ring and tell me that…you know…"

Roxas made a face, "You really think I'd give myself away _that _easily?" Roxas turned a little red. Sure, he had made a small slip-up, but he liked to think that he had covered it up quite well. "First day was fun. I _knew _I was going to like school." He stuck out his tongue playfully and Demyx made a move as if to lick him, as he always did when Roxas did that.

"Meet anyone interesting?"

Roxas shrugged, "A few people. Five people. Seven…" _Including Kairi and Hayner…_

Demyx wiggled his eyebrows, "Anyone you got a crush on?"

"NO!" Roxas spoke a little too quickly, but he shook his head frantically, "No, no. I don't like anyone."

Demyx scratched his head with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He shuffled a little bit on the couch, eyeing Roxas, but he remained silent for a while, as if thinking. Roxas waited for his friend to speak up, "Well, I suppose it's a good thing that you stay away from having any personal…relationships with anyone at school."

Roxas gazed at his best friend with curiosity, "Why?"

"Well, first of all, you're not really who they think you are."

"Oh…" Roxas realized that Demyx was right there, "Yeah, I suppose. But…yeah, okay, fine. You win that argument. I'll try my best, but it's not like I have anyone of my interest right now. Well, there's this guy—" He was about to say that Axel was pretty interesting, but he cut himself off in time.

Apparently not.

Demyx raised an eyebrow, his inquisitiveness was palpable. "There's this guy…yes, Roxas, please continue. I'd like to know the rest of that suggestive sentence."

Roxas blushed, "It's nothing! He's just a friend." And it was true. Roxas had no feelings for this redhead. It was just…he really liked the feel of Axel's lean, hard body against his…and how Axel kept finding excuses just to talk to him…at least, Roxas felt like Axel was just finding random reasons to talk to him. After all, Axel _had_ been the one to invite him to stay in the washroom. He _had _been the one stroking Roxas's hair as if he were a puppy on his lap, and everything that Axel did was maybe just a little bit too intimate for friendship. _I don't know…It's probably just a first day crush. It'll go away by tomorrow. Yep. It'll be gone by tomorrow morning when I wake up._

Demyx shrugged again, "Alright, if you say so."

Roxas wasn't listening. He was still too busy thinking, or rather, reassuring himself that it was just a **_first day crush._**

* * *

"Axel."

Demyx stared at Roxas, his lips forming a thin, confused line, "Huh?"

Roxas forked the broccoli into his mouth, "Axel," He said after swallowing, "That's the guy's name. I was about to tell you about him before but then I changed my mind, and now I changed my mind again. He doesn't like the model me very much, but he's an okay guy." _I guess…_ Roxas was still troubled.

Demyx didn't say anything. Rather, he had quite the devious smirk on his face. Roxas had never been so scared to see it. It was like Demyx knew something he didn't, but he decided not to question it. All it would lead to would be describing what the redhead looked like and more questions on whether or not Roxas liked him. He had taken off his wig by now, and so the blond quickly finished up the rest of his dinner before pouncing on his favorite red couch again.

"Don't you have homework?" Demyx asked, clearing the table.

Roxas nodded, "Yeah, I have English homework. Just copying down vocabulary and stuff. I'm gonna need your computer for that later, cause you probably don't have a dictionary. But it's not due until after tomorrow, so I'll be fine."

"Procrastinating isn't good, you know," Demyx warned, and Roxas sent him a mocking glare. The older blond raised his hands defensively, "Alright, alright, I'll leave you to it. Your homework, not mine," He paused, "Actually, I know what you should do."

Roxas raised an eyebrow, "What should I do?"

"You should _not _do your homework for a whole week and see if the principal calls me down for a conference meeting." The smirk was back. "That way we could meet up again."

"Demyx, that's creepy," Roxas started laughing.

"No," Demyx protested, "I'm sure he liked me. I still want to know his last name. Would you find out for me? Also, when I left, did he say anything? Or did he look sad? Or _something_? Something must have changed about him when I left, like how lost he felt when the other half of his love life left the office."

"Yeah, he looked relieved," Roxas stifled another giggle as Demyx's face fell dramatically. Just as the older was about to say something else, the phone rang. The two of them shot a glance at it, and they both thought of the same thing at the exact same time:

_Sephiroth?_

"Eep," Demyx dashed into the kitchen with the dishes, "I'm hiding. Goodbye."

"A lot of help _you_ are," Roxas complained, "I'm not even supposed to be here," Tentatively, he reached for the phone and picked it up. He slowly brushed it against his ear and he attempted in deepening his voice, "Hello?"

"Hey, sexy."

Roxas was instantly taken aback, and his deep-ish voice disappeared, "Wh-what? Who is this?"

There seemed to be a shocked pause on the other end of the phone, "Hello? Who is this?" Roxas listened carefully; the voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Axel?"

The voice on the other end coughed self-consciously. Roxas decided that the caller was Axel, "Who is this?"

"Roxas," He said, bemused, "Or Rokusasu, whichever name you're calling me by," He heard a long groan on the other end and he smiled. It seemed that Axel had just realized who he called. Roxas waited patiently for his excuse, _if _he was going to give one at all. There were some static noises, and then he heard Axel's deep voice,

"Oh, man, I'm so sorry. I meant to call Riku, but I have you down right under him, so I probably pressed the wrong button," He sounded slightly embarrassed, "I didn't mean to call you sexy. Well, I mean, sure, why not, but it was really meant for – you know what, never mind. You can hang up now if I'm wasting your time."

Roxas didn't say a word. He _had _been a little surprised when Axel had called him, but his heart sank when he realized it had been a mistake. Still, it wouldn't hurt to talk a little, "Are _you _busy, because I'm not," Almost automatically, he ran his hand through his hair, his stomach doing a double flip when he realized he wasn't wearing his wig. It was just having Axel on the phone, it made him think that he was at school. He heard Axel speak again,

"Nah, I'm not busy. Why'd you think I called Riku if I didn't want to waste a little bit of time? Want to talk for a—"

"Yes," Roxas bit down on his lip, "I mean, sure." He heard Axel chuckle on the other side of the line; even his laugh sounded nice on a static-filled phone. Roxas turned around just in time to see Demyx peeking around from the corner, eyes twinkling with mischief. Roxas shook his head frantically, glaring at him as he muttered, "What's up?"

"Just mooching around on my couch with…" Silence, then, "My cat. I'm with my cat."

Roxas arched an eyebrow, "Your cat?"

"Yeah, my cat. Sunshine. Ignore the generic name. He's really cute." Roxas had no idea why they were talking about this. He heard a faint meow, and Axel said, "Say hi, and tell him he's cute."

"Hi, you're cute?" Roxas started laughing.

"I was talking to Sunshine," Axel responded. Roxas stopped laughing just as Demyx burst out, guffawing. Roxas noticed that Demyx was holding the phone by his leg, muffling out his laughter; he had been eavesdropping. Roxas waved his hand furiously, telling Demyx to go away. When he did not, Roxas jumped up from the couch. There was a small meow, "Did you hear that?"

"Y-yes," Roxas said as he chased Demyx around the room. "Yeah, I heard." _Demyx, give me the phone! _He mouthed.

"He said you were cute."

"Yeah, I know, you…" Roxas stopped running to catch his breath, "You told me." He started chasing after him again but Demyx had darted into his own bedroom and closed the door on Roxas's face, causing him to crash face-first into it.

"I agree, you know."

"Yeah, can you hold on for a second?" Roxas dropped the phone and banged on the door, "Demyx, give me the phone!" He swung open the door to see Demyx on the bed, rolling around, holding his stomach. He was laughing too hard, it almost seemed as if he wasn't breathing. Roxas stomped over and tried to wrench the phone away from him. It was quite a struggle, since Demyx was trying to guard it with his body and Roxas was just too short. "You're embarrassing me!" He pulled at Demyx's hair.

"Ahhh! Wait, nooo, Rokusasu, not the hair!" Demyx was still laughing, but Roxas was sure that he saw tears of pain in his best friend's eyes. "Okay, okay. Here!" He flung the phone at Roxas, and the blond instantly let go. He pressed the off button on the phone.

"Never listen to my phone calls ever again." Roxas snapped, clearly not amused.

"Who was that?" Demyx asked, eyes bright with curiosity.

"That was Axel," Roxas said, still breathing hard. "Don't laugh," He warned just as Demyx's hand flew up to his mouth to cover up a smile. "Prepare to be kicked off the bed tonight."

"Oh, you don't have the strength to," Demyx laughed.

They argued back and forth for a while. In the end, Demyx had to run back to the bathroom when he asked how Axel got his phone number in order to escape from Roxas's flailing hands. Roxas scowled, returning back towards the living room. He had been so busy quarrelling with Demyx that now…

_What was I doing just before? _Roxas stopped in his tracks, a little bothered by this sudden mind blank. He sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs as he tried to remember what he had just been doing. He felt like it had been something important, but he just…forgot. He clapped the palm of his hand to his forehead, sighing. "C'mon, Roxas, try and remember…"

* * *

A few minutes ago

Axel picked up his cell phone and his cat, which meowed as soon as he placed him on the couch beside him. Axel stared at his cell phone, flipping it open and closed. Usually, Riku or even Marluxia would have texted him by now. There were no new messages, and Axel was bored. Flipping his cell phone open again, he scrolled down his contacts list. Down the R's.

**Riku**

**Rikku**

**Roxas**

Axel stared at the name. He ran a hand through the spikes of his hair, seemingly thinking about who to call. Riku…he always called Riku, and Rikku had math tutor at this time of night. Roxas… Axel smiled; the boy was fun to tease. That was all. He remembered earlier on the bus; Riku had spoken to him after Roxas and Sora had left the bus.

_* * *_

_"You don't like him, do you?"_

_Axel raised an eyebrow, slouching back down on his seat, flicking his lighter on and off, "Who?" Riku rolled his eyes and Axel instantly knew who he was talking about, "Roxas? Nah. Not him. I told him, we're friends."_

_"Don't give him the wrong idea then." Riku turned his head back towards the window. Axel's eyes narrowed; he never knew when Riku was being serious or not. He prodded Riku's bag in a playful manner,_

_"Aw, are you jealous? I don't like him that way."_

_Riku looked back at him and just smiled knowingly, "Whatever's gonna make you sleep at night, Axel."_

_* * *_

"Faggot," Axel muttered, pressing Roxas's number. He didn't like him _that _way. He knew that Riku knew that, but it still troubled him a little. He brought the phone to his ear…and was shocked to hear a low voice; did he call the wrong number? He glanced at the phone, and it read Roxas's number, but the voice was almost as deep as Riku's. Axel just took the chance anyway, "Hey, sexy."

The moment he heard a surprised squeak, he knew it was Roxas. Only that boy would get embarrassed by stuff like that. When his name was spoken out loud, he grinned, deciding to play it out like he had wanted to call Riku instead. Roxas didn't seem too flabbergasted that Axel had 'called the wrong number', and so Axel decided to take it out even further,

"Want to talk for a—"

"Yes."

The reply had been rather quick, but Axel didn't say anything of it. Suppose Roxas had been bored as well. He lifted his cat up as soon as he mentioned Sunshine and he raised him to the cell phone, which was now on speaker and propped up on the couch. Sunshine pawed at it, and Axel grinned, "Say hi, and tell him he's cute."

"Hi, you're cute?"

Axel resisted the strong urge to chuckle, "I was talking to Sunshine," The cat meowed, "Did you hear that?" He picked his cat up again and put him on the floor. Because he was too busy doing so, he didn't realize the abrupt commotion on the other end of the phone. He watched as Sunshine darted around and disappeared into his room. A sudden thought approached his mind, and a Cheshire grin pulled at his lips, "I agree, you know."

"Yeah, can you hold on for a second?"

Before Axel could say anything, he heard a loud bang and he figured that Roxas had dropped the phone. Feeling slightly miffed that he was put off like that, Axel put the phone off speaker and waited for Roxas to return. There were a few muffled shouts, but Axel couldn't hear what they were saying. He caught a few words like 'bed', but he dismissed the idea of Roxas sleeping with someone else. He couldn't imagine it, seeing how innocent Roxas was. He hummed low to himself, leaning back on the couch.

Three long minutes had passed. A deep frown was etched on Axel's face as he fidgeted impatiently. Had Roxas forgotten about him? "Hello?" He called out, though he was quite sure that no one could hear him. He made a puppy-dog pout, "Helloooo?"

Another two minutes passed.

"Roxas…you there or not?"

No answer. Normally, Axel would have pushed the off button by now if it were any other person. But Axel didn't want to hang up on this particular boy though. There was just something about it that made him want to wait for Roxas to come back. It wasn't until another minute passed that Axel heard something.

"Oh, my god!" Axel perked up when he heard Roxas's voice; there was a bit of noise on the other end then Roxas's frantic voice broke through, "Oh, my god, I'm so sorry! I was doing something and then—and then, I sorta…"

"Forgot about me?" Axel provided.

"I'm sorry!!" Roxas wailed.

"Hey, hey," Axel started laughing, "Don't worry about it. It only had to wait about five minutes. It's okay."

"You could have hung up," Roxas mumbled miserably. Axel could tell the brunet was really feeling bad about it. He shrugged avidly, but Roxas continued to speak, "You could have just hung up and I would have understood. Now I feel terrible. I'm sor—"

"Don't," Axel sighed, "Don't say sorry again."

"So…rry." There was a pause, "Sorry again. Oh, wait. I'm sor—gah," Roxas made a faint sound, something between a groan and a whimper, "Should I just let this go?"

"Yeah, just let it go."

"Okay," Roxas said in his small voice, feeling a little dumb. The apology was on the tip of his tongue, and he knew that he wanted to say it. _Why didn't Axel hang up? _He thought wildly to himself. _I would've hung up on me. This guy's too nice._

Axel tapped his fingers on the arm chair of his couch, "Now that you're back and I'm even more bored than before, you wanna play something?" It sounded a little dirty, and a light chuckle escaped his lips. Roxas didn't understand why he had laughed,

"Sure. What kind of game?" He was just glad that the topic about him forgetting Axel had been quickly forgotten. He almost changed his mind about that when he heard Axel's hurried response,

"Phone sex."

Roxas's silence was noted; he was too shocked to speak. Axel let out a short bark of laughter, "I was kidding, Roxas. I'm not _that_ horny. Not today, anyway. Besides, it's not that hard– I could demonstrate later if you—"

"No, thank you," A deep blush was already making its way to Roxas's cheeks.

"You're so innocent. All this talk about sex is uncomfortable for you, isn't it?" When Roxas didn't answer, simply because he was thinking of something witty to say, Axel started to recompense, "Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Umm…" Axel crossed his legs again, "Let's play twenty questions."

"Huh?"

"Ask me something and I'll answer truthfully, then I'll do the same thing to you," Axel explained, exasperated, "Everyone knows how to play twenty questions." Roxas rolled his eyes; _I'm sorry I haven't been living a normal life up till now. _

"Twenty questions? I only have time for one though," Roxas pushed his tongue to the side of his mouth, "I've got homework to do."

"Oh. First day of school and you've already got homework? I don't know where my paper from math is. Probably in the fireplace," Roxas almost giggled, "So you want to? One question's all right too."

"Fine," Roxas closed his eyes; he could think better when he wasn't distracted by anything in the room. What was one thing that he wanted to ask Axel? There were many questions in his head. Many of them were generic like 'what's your favorite color?' or 'do you have any siblings?'. They were boring questions, and plus, he didn't care how many brothers or sisters Axel had. There _was _this one question that had been bugging Roxas the whole day.

"How many piercings do you have?" He demanded. He was certain that Axel had sat up on the couch, excited. The blond wondered if the redhead was actually counting how many,

"Well, there's five here on my left. Six or five on my right…I'm actually not sure. Too lazy to check. And then I've got…that's it," He sounded disappointed, and Roxas imagined him pouting, "My mom won't let me get anymore. She freaked when I tied up my hair this summer and she saw how many piercings I had gotten without her permission."

"But she doesn't get mad at your tattoos?"

"...Uh. Yeah, you know what, she spazzed about that too."

"Aw," Roxas said flatly, "Well, I think you have enough piercings."

"Really?" Axel sounded skeptic, "I want one more. Like, a tongue piercing or something," Roxas almost swooned, but he didn't say anything, "Anyway, it's my turn."

Roxas had guessed that Axel was going to ask him some dirty question, like whether or not he was a virgin, or if he had his first kiss yet. He was expecting something only Axel would say, since the redhead's hormones were practically raging out of control. He was taken aback once more when he heard Axel say, "Does it bother you when I smoke? Apparently, it bothers Riku."

Roxas didn't think. He just answered truthfully, "Well…kinda. I hate smoking, and I don't like smokers either," And it was true. He once had to smoke one cigarette for a model shoot and the photographer wouldn't allow it not to be lit. The moment he had said it though, he realized how bad it sounded. He covered his mouth two seconds too late.

"I see," Axel murmured.

_I'm sorry! _Roxas inwardly yelled. He bit down on his lip to keep from saying the apology. Roxas moved his tongue along his teeth, soothing it from the throbbing pain, "I gotta go now, Axel."

"Alright."

_This is disastrous…_ Roxas didn't want to ask if he was mad or not, so in the end, after waiting a good five seconds, he whispered, "Good night, Axel."

"Night," And the redhead hung up without another word.

* * *

**kso, wdf: **Okay, I know the pronunciation now. D: I was just asking anyway. Well, umm.. I guess it doesn't matter how it's pronounced, as long as you can differentiate between the two different "Roxaseseses". So...yeah, I'm sorry. Thanks for all your reviews! Wow, four chapters and already I have more than seventy reviews. You guys are the best. xxo

I don't wanna write another super long (pointless) author's note, so... I hope you enjoyed the read. The romance will slowly get in, but at least their relationship is shaping up a little, yeah? :D Even though Axel seems a bit...offended. I'll fix it. Somehow. I don't think he's that mad anyway. Don't expect anything too dramatic. xD

**Please review. :D  
**


	6. VI

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular redhead to make things a little complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Non-srs Axel is not srs. Not much. Axel being a meanie towards model Roxas, kinda.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me.

**A/N: **It's getting harder and harder to upload these chapters. No, not because of writer's block, because of this stupid thing my parents put on my computer that pretty blocks every site that has bad words on it. Google Netnanny, because it's hard to explain. And it **MAKES ME MAD.** So I iz limiting Axel's swear words. D:** And I decided to change the rating to T until I get to...later chapters.** Cause I'm not sure.

**

* * *

VI  
**

A full three days had passed, and though Roxas would never admit it to Demyx, the three days had been quite…well, dull. The blond had decided to avoid Axel as much as possible. He thought that the redhead was annoyed, or rather, angry with him for saying that he did not like smokers. It had been the truth, but the way Roxas had said it may have made Axel think that he was implying something. That he didn't like Axel.

Even so, Axel wasn't talking to Roxas either. It was as if he were avoiding the blond deliberately. He wouldn't even look at Roxas (though Roxas had seen him turn a few times as if he were making a move to look at him). It hurt a little, mainly because the 'first day crush' thing hadn't worked out for Roxas. Since he hadn't had close friends before that were around his age, he found that he was rather attached to Axel since the first day of school. It went the same with Sora, and at least the other brunet would talk to him.

"What's wrong with you and Axel?" Sora had asked him on the second day. Roxas shrugged, turning a bit pink. He didn't know whether he should tell Sora what he had said, but in the end, after some persuasion, he was forced to spit it out. Sora, instead of being reproachful, was actually laughing,

"You told him that? Gee, Roku, no wonder Riku's been saying Axel's acting weird lately."

"He's been acting weird?" Roxas had asked, puzzled.

Sora had nodded, "Like he's been in a pissy mood lately. But that's all Riku would tell me," Roxas couldn't think of anything to respond to that, so he had remained quiet. Had he offended Axel _that _much? Or was it something else? Roxas wanted to ask but he knew that his friend had none of the answers he wanted.

History class was still funny though, even when Axel wasn't speaking to him. The redhead was loud, and intentionally made come-backs to the teacher's lectures. He'd sometimes crack a joke, and even Roxas had to find himself smiling. It was hard to ignore him anyway, since he was sitting on the desk a few centimeters away from Roxas's. His classmates clearly loved Axel, and Roxas could tell that he was quite the popular boy. In some ways, Roxas was jealous. It made him want Axel to notice him even more.

So now Roxas was sitting in history class, doodling in his notebook as Mrs. Lockheart started writing their assignment on the board. They had been learning Greek Mythology, but Roxas was hardly paying attention. He just kept spacing out towards the window, and every time he thought that Axel was looking over at him, he quickly dropped his gaze down to the blank sheet of paper in front of him.

Mrs. Lockheart was saying, "So, the assignment is quite simple. I'm letting all of you know now that this is easy marks. You have to make a skit for the Greek gods and goddesses that you are given. You'll be able to choose your own groups. Be creative! I don't care what you do; as long as you have something planned for it and don't come to school and say 'oh, miss, I don't have anything done' and then you give me a load of nonsense," She seemed to be staring at Axel while saying that, but the redhead heeded her no attention.

"Alright, choose your groups. Groups of _four, _please. This is due in a month, so you all better do your research and get this done."

Roxas sat still on his seat as Axel leapt up from his chair and darted around the classroom in search for his group partners. It was like, Roxas wanted to walk over to the redhead and ask if he could be in his group, but he was…a little intimidated. Everyone around Axel was so…tall. Roxas glanced around the rest of the class; everyone was already in three's and four's. A few times, he saw a group of girls glancing over at him, and one of them even started shuffling closer until she got too shy to and ran back to her friends. Roxas resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes; if Axel wasn't going to choose him, he wasn't going to have a choice anyway.

Taking one last back-glance at Axel, he strode towards the girls, "Um," Roxas did a tiny shrug with one shoulder, "…Can I be in your group? I don't have any—"

"Yes," One of the girls replied quickly, "Yes, you can be in our group."

Roxas smiled, and he was sure one of the girls had blushed furiously, "Thank you," Tilting his head to the side, he swiveled around only to see Axel's eyes flickering towards him. The jade orbs caught the blue, and Roxas's breath hitched in his throat. Hastily, he spun around on the balls of his feet only to be smacked across the face with a sheet of paper. The girl who had hit him started squealing,

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you oka—?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Roxas rubbed his eye, taking the sheet of paper handed to him, "Wh-what is this?" He was still shaken that Axel had even _looked _at him. Blinking his eyes rapidly to focus on the tiny black words, he read '**Eros: the Greek god of love.**' Roxas couldn't help but arch a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "Kay… so this is who I have to be?"

The girls grinned and nodded at him. He had the slight feeling that it wasn't chosen by random. He sighed, "Okay. Who's making the script?"

As the girls bickered about who should do what, Roxas tried to give something in. He didn't want to be the only one not doing anything, but every time he tried to speak, the girls' high voices would drown his feeble voice out. Roxas opened his mouth again, and then mumbled, "Ah, guess you don't need my help then. I'm just…gonna go back…to my…okay…" He traipsed back to his seat, slumping down until he could place his chin on the edge of his desk.

The bell rang after thirty minutes of no production. The girls had informed their teacher who was in their group, and Roxas saw Axel going up as well. The class filed out quickly, but Roxas was still slowly packing up his books. As he picked up his binders, his pencil case clattered to the floor and all his pencils and pens broke out of the case. With an exasperated sigh, he got down on his knees and started to collect them back up.

Axel was still there as well, but the redhead made no move to help him. Instead, he was standing there, slowly organizing his papers. This was driving Roxas crazy. He wanted to know whether or not Axel was mad at him.

_I mean…I don't like Axel. Right, I don't like Axel. I do **not **like Axel. I do not **like **Axel. I do not like **Ax—**_

_I wanna be friends…_

As less conspicuously as possible, Roxas made a move as if to grab the farthest pen from him, but with his finger, he prodded it so that it would roll towards Axel.

It hit the chair.

Roxas made a frustrated groan before crawling over to it. There was no point in this, and it was like he was trying too hard. Just as he reached for it, Axel stooped down and picked it up. Roxas froze, then slowly, very slowly, started to move his eyes to look at Axel. The redhead waved it in the air, then pointed the blue pen at Roxas, "Here."

Roxas gulped, gradually getting up to his feet, "Thanks." He swiftly took the pen from Axel, and he tried very hard not to blush when the tips of his fingers grazed Axel's. The taller boy cocked his head to the side, jaw twitching as if he were about to say something. Roxas waited, and his face fell when Axel turned back to his papers. He continued to stare, words processing through his head…until…

"You keep staring at me like that, and you're gonna burn a hole through my face," Axel stated exasperatedly, still sifting through his papers. Roxas tore his fixated stare from Axel,

"Are you mad at me?" Axel's eyes swung over at him so quickly that Roxas instantly stared down, "I-I mean…it just seems l-like it. I don't really…know if you are…" He dropped his pen to the floor and he rapidly snatched it back up, "Sorry."

"What?"

"What?" Roxas repeated, his hand feeling twitchy from feeling so nervous. He didn't want to drop the pen again, so he gripped it tightly until it started to hurt.

"I thought _you _were the one mad at me," Axel had totally forgotten about the papers on his desk now and had turned to face Roxas. He didn't seem angry; just confused, which got Roxas to be even more encouraged to talk to him.

"No," Roxas started to say, but Axel was already trying to speak his mind,

"No, because you didn't even _come _to hang out with us when we were in the bathroom. Sora didn't come either—"

"Yeah…because he was staying with _me_…"

"And because of that, Riku was starting to PMS like a girl on her period because– okay, never mind. The point is, we thought that you didn't want to hang out with us anymore, and I told them about what had happened three days ago and they all thought it was my fault but I couldn't find the right time to talk to you because you always seemed to be mad at me or something…and…" Axel glanced up at the ceiling, trying to think of something else he could add to his run-on sentence. He shook his head, "Nope, I'm done. Now what's _your_ reason for not talking to me?"

Roxas gaped at him like a goldfish, trying to understand everything that Axel had just said. Axel looked triumphant; "I didn't _have _a reason," He muttered, "I just….you're just…_you're scary._"

"I'm scary?" Axel widened his eyes. Roxas shifted his weight onto his other leg anxiously,

"No, no, I didn't mean that. I mean, like, your…tallness is very…" Roxas blanked out, "Very...well, I'm just really short and I feel really small when I'm with you, therefore, it makes you intimidating," Roxas let it out all in one breath. To his utter surprise, Axel started to laugh; at least the redhead seemed to be understanding. The shorter boy started to smile when Axel stooped down to his eye level,

"Better now?"

Roxas hid his smile, which was still widening, behind his hand, "Yeah, much."

"You know I can't stay like this forever," Axel glanced around the room, "Wow, I feel like a midget," He started chuckling at Roxas's jokingly offended face, "But now you'll talk to me, right?"

Roxas rolled his eyes skyward, "I'll talk to you any time. It was just 'cause I thought I insulted you when I said I didn't like smokers. I mean, I wasn't really thinking, you know? It just came out and then you hung up, and I felt kinda bad because…"

"You thought I was mad at you," Axel's smirk started to spread as he finished Roxas's sentence, "I wasn't _mad_ at you. I was kinda like, 'oh, he doesn't like smokers. Okay, whatever…' type of thing. It didn't bother me that much…" For some reason, Roxas didn't believe him, but he chose to keep that particular opinion to himself. Axel abruptly turned his head to the side, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "But in case you're wondering, I quit..."

"Wait, quit smoking?"

"Yeah," Axel returned his attention back on him, "Apparently, cancer can kill me, so I decided to stop. Plus, people won't kiss me if I have mouth cancer and bad breath. No amount of Listerine can fix _that_."

"…Since when did you quit?"

Axel thought about it, "...Two days ago…or maybe three..."

"Are you sure it's not because I said I didn't like it?" The thought made him happy, and he started grinning even more when Axel scoffed, turning away again,

"Noooo, of course not…" His signature smirk was back on his face, "Maybe. If it makes you happy, go ahead and think that way."

Roxas shrugged, lying through his teeth, "I don't think that way," But even as he was saying that, Axel groaned, slapping the palm of his hand onto his forehead,

"Aw, now I feel like an idiot. If I knew that you weren't mad at me, I would've asked you to be in my group. You'll never guess who they chose for me."

Roxas didn't say anything, but luckily, Axel was already going ahead, "I have to be Aphrodite, goddess of _looooove_."

Roxas burst out laughing, "What? You think you won't be a good Aphrodite?"

"I'd make a sexy Aphrodite," Axel proudly lifted his chin and ran his hand through his hair (Roxas's thoughts betrayed him as he inwardly agreed), "She'd be jealous. But I think you should have played the part. I don't want to be her."

"Is that all you'd want me for?" Roxas asked, pretending to be slightly infuriated.

"No," Axel wiggled his eyebrows alluringly, "C'mon. I'd get to see you in a dress."

Roxas was glad that he had turned away just when his cheeks started turning pink. Too bad Axel was never serious. Axel skipped up to Ms. Lockheart, who had been intently writing in her notebook, trying her best to ignore the constant flirting between two of her students, "Miss?"

Ms. Lockheart nodded her head, "Yes, Axel?"

"Could Rokusasu come into my group?" The teacher's big brown eyes turned over on Roxas, and the boy smiled, deciding that he should help out,

"Please?"

Ms. Lockheart looked torn, "Oh, boys, I really would let you two switch, but then the groups would be uneven. Unless, Axel, you're willing to kick someone else from your group—"

"I don't mind," Axel piped up quickly, but Ms. Lockheart pretended that she couldn't hear him,

"So, I'm sorry to say that you cannot switch groups. Sorry, Rokusasu," She sent him a soft smile. Axel pouted, a whine escaping from his lips, and even the teacher started to smile, "No, Axel, that's not going to work a second time."

"Ah, well, it was worth a try," Axel sighed, "Sorry, Roxas."

"It's fine," Roxas pulled a smile; _I'm just glad you're not mad._

"Hey, but listen," Axel stopped talking as the bell rang; Roxas had lunch, but he was sure that the redhead had a class to go to. Axel didn't even seem to mind, "Anyway, listen, me n' Riku are going to the mall later after school. Do you want to come? You can bring Sora along if you want."

Roxas was _just _about to say yes, but then something else crossed his mind, "Oh…" The disappointment showed on his face, "I can't. I've got a mod—I've got something to do after school," The truth had almost slipped out. He had a model shoot to go to; Demyx had told him in the morning, but because Roxas was running late for the bus, he didn't have time to elaborate on the details.

"What are you going to do?" Axel asked.

"…Something. It's a secret. But I'll find another time to be with you, okay?"

The moment that Axel shoved the papers into his backpack and circled around to face Roxas to smile reassuringly, Roxas knew that he was going to have a good day today, "Okay."

* * *

The rest of the day, Roxas was in his own little blissful bubble. His smile was still on his face, and it was starting to make his jaw ache. Many times during the day, Sora had pestered Roxas into knowing what was making him in such a good mood, but all Roxas said was, "Axel's not mad at me~"

Demyx had told Roxas that he would come to school to pick him up by car. Roxas had actually been dreading the last few minutes of school; he didn't fancy being in the same vehicle as his best friend, especially when Demyx was driving. He zigzagged around his classmates, asking for something that would keep him from throwing up in the car. He managed to catch Marluxia, who happened to have Gravol in his backpack (apparently, he got motion sickness easily). After humorously asking whether or not Roxas was taking drugs, he gave one to Roxas.

Demyx, however, was not at the front doors. After having quick suspicions, Roxas started wandering back to the office. Demyx had probably made a rapid escape to question Zexion some more. To Roxas's great amusement, he walked into the office to find Demyx leaning over Zexion's desk,

"…Do you have…an appointment?" Zexion looked flustered. After all, who _would _want to see a twenty-eight year old man crawling up towards them in a very…seductive manner? Zexion appeared to be confused, as if he didn't know if he was in his office, or at a strip club.

"Just came down for some…_discipline…_" Demyx winked, and Roxas groaned inwardly. Zexion's expression was priceless,

"Get off my desk, or I'll have to suspend you."

"I'm not a student here," Demyx wiggled his eyebrows playfully. Zexion's eyes widened as he started to stutter,

"W-well, then who…?"

"He's my _guardian_," Roxas said exasperatedly, "Demyx, what are you _doing_?"

Zexion's face remained blank as Demyx started making wide-eyed, pouty faces,

"I just wanted to give your principal a nice sort of…hello," Demyx protested as Roxas pulled him back onto his feet; one more crawl towards the Zexion, and Demyx would have been on top of him, "I mean, last time I just sort of ran out on him, and I didn't want him to think I was rude."

"Demyx…" Zexion took a deep breath, straightening up in his chair as some of the color from his cheek started residing. He said as bluntly as possible, "Are you hitting on me?"

"Why, yes, I—"

"Okay! Time to go!" Roxas hastily pulled on Demyx's arm and made the blond go flying out the door behind him. Roxas was sure that Demyx had a purse on his lips, "What are you _doing, _Demyx? Are you trying to embarrass me everywhere I go? And didn't you say that I had a model shoot to go to?"

"Pfft," Demyx scoffed as he trailed behind Roxas, nearly tripping down the stairs outside, "With my speed driving, you'll definitely get there on time."

With that sudden thought, Roxas felt ill. "Where are we going anyway?"

Demyx started the engine, "I'm only driving you there. I won't be going inside the mall with you."

Roxas's jaw dropped. "The _mall_?" The mall. Where Axel and Riku were. Sure, he had been to the mall a couple times to do model shoots, but now this was different. There were actually _people _there that he knew. Now he _really_ felt nauseous to his stomach.

He popped the Gravol into his mouth with a swig of water just as Demyx started to drive.

* * *

"See? I told you he wasn't mad," Riku said, taking a sip from his caramel Frappuccino. Axel rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses before sliding them up on top of his hair. He propped his feet onto the chair across from him as he leaned back on his own. His chair was now merely balancing on its hind legs.

"No, you didn't," Axel retorted back. Riku shrugged, "…Well, okay, maybe you let it slip out once."

"Yeah, I did. And it's because of me that now you're grinning like an idiot."

"I'm not grinning," Axel mumbled, hiding his smile behind his cup. Riku rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, _okay_. Go on, jump on the table. Sing and dance like a spaz."

"Hey, that was _one_ time," Axel pouted.

"And when you sing, you sound like my cousin when he's screaming for help."

"No, I don—wait, when was that?"

"After I made him swallow a caterpillar when I was five," Riku flashed him a guiltless smile before sitting quietly in his seat for a while, watching as the shoppers passed by their table, "You really like him, don't you?" The aquamarine eyes watched him carefully for any change of expression. Axel froze, _really _thinking about it. He averted his eyes, murmuring,

"It's only been a few days," As the same thought struck both of them at the same time; _Axel didn't answer yes or no**, **_Axel hastily added, "Well, I don't know. Think about it. I hardly know anything about Roxas. He might not even like guys for all you know. You know how slow I am with these types of things."

"—Oh, you went pretty _fast_ with me—"

Axel ignored Riku's cocky smile and the innuendo he had placed in there, "I knew you for three years. Give me another month to get my thoughts together. Quit bugging me. Go do something productive and jump out the window."

"No." Riku said impassively.

"Ah, well, I thought for a second—"

"OOHH MY **PAAANTS**!! IT'S ROXAS DERENZIS!!"

The two boys jumped at the sudden scream from the girls at the next table in the food court. All heads turned to see the flawless blond taking quick strides across the center of the mall. A few people even started to rush towards the model, but the guards kept them at bay. Axel noticed the blond had shoved his hands deep into his pockets, looking slightly unnerved.

"It's not like he's from a foreign country," Axel muttered under his breath before raising his voice, "He lives in the city, people! Go stalk him if you want to see him again!"

The bodyguards threw him dirty looks, but the only thing Axel noticed was how Roxas DeRenzis's blue, blue eyes flicked up to look at him, and how abruptly he then turned around, almost as if he had been hiding something.

Axel shrugged; he wouldn't know.

* * *

_Oh, my pants? That's new...I should tell Demyx about **that** one...but oh, man…he's here…he's only a few meters away from me…and he's with Riku…oh, f— it's **Axel**…_

Roxas couldn't stop fidgeting, and it wasn't even because his clothes were a tad bit tighter than usual. (He had had to change in the back of the car, which had been _very _uncomfortable). He didn't even know why he had to do this particular photo in the mall. Demyx had said something about the photographer being on a tight schedule…like all the rest, all the time.

The other thing that Roxas didn't understand was why he was feeling so flustered and apprehensive. He couldn't even bring himself to raise his hands over his head in an appealing manner without suddenly feeling self-conscious or embarrassed. It wasn't even because people were staring at him. No, he was used to that. It was something else, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The photographer took longer than expected. He had been getting more and more frustrated at how Roxas wasn't paying attention to the camera at all. Every single picture took around four to five minutes. A few times, Roxas even caught Axel stealing a glimpse at him, but no sooner that happened, Axel returned to his drink and Riku, and then Roxas would get chastised.

"Pay attention!"

After a short, snappy lecture, Roxas apologized over and over again, and the crew left. Now, he was standing beside one of his hired guards (the rest had left). Roxas's eyes were _glued _to the ground; he could still hear Axel's voice ringing in his ear. The crowd had died down a little, and the guard turned to Roxas,

"I'm going to use the restroom."

"Oh…kay…"

"Are you going to be okay, sir?"

Roxas almost laughed, "What am I, five? I can handle two minutes being alone. I'll be fine. _Go._" The guard stumbled away, and Roxas leaned against the wall. Another three people recognized him, but it seemed that no one had the guts to come up to him directly.

_What was taking his ride so long to get here?_

"OH, MY GOD!" Roxas peered up only to see two girls gawking at him. He pursed his lips in a tight line as they started to squeal, "Oh, my gosh, it's youuuu~!"

"Uh…"

"Can we have a picture?"

"And an autograph?!"

"Your hair's so pretty, what do you put in it?" Roxas leaned back when one of the girls started to reach for the top of his head,

"Can you please not…"

A snap and a flash of painfully pallid light invaded Roxas's vision, blinding his sight. It only took a second for him to figure out that the girls had taken a candid picture of him.

"OH, GOSH, HE'S SO CUUUUTE!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!"

He angrily swiped the camera away,

"Leave me al—"

"Hey, you two are giving me a headache."

Roxas blinked as the girls whirled around to face Axel, who had come over with an irritated frown painted on his face. Still in his school golf shirt, he looked rather intimidating with the tattoos snaking up and around his muscled arms.

_Ahh, Pervert Axel is gone. Now it's Angry Axel. Angry Axel does not like Roxas DeRenzis. This is bad. This is gonna be ugly. This is…the part where I should be running away. _

_...Very, very far away.  
_

The girls instantly bristled up and crossed their arms, a defiant gleam in their brown eyes, "Mind your own business."

"Yeah, why don't you just…" The girl paused, trying to think of something clever, but was unable to, "Go…"

Axel made a face, "Well, it looks to me like you two aren't exactly wanted here either," He turned to Roxas, who again had no choice but to look away; he didn't want Axel to recognize him, "Do you want them here?"

For the sake of hiding his voice as well, he shook his head solemnly. Axel smiled haughtily at the two girls, "See?"

One of the girls scoffed, "Uhh, well, you can't make us leave."

"Just go before I end up hitting one of you. They'll have to call animal control."

"Oh, you wouldn't hit a _girl._"

Roxas saw the corners of Axel's lips twitch, and that made the girls cringe in fear, "I could close my eyes and it wouldn't matter," With that one sentence, the two girls scampered off, casting a frightened glance back at the redhead. Roxas was smiling, but when he turned back to Axel, he saw a pair of sunglasses dangling in front of him. Axel swayed it with his fingers,

"Cover yourself up or another group will come. I'll _really _get annoyed then."

Roxas gaped at the shades as he took them. It was different; someone that wasn't Demyx was treating him like a normal human being. He supposed it was because Axel didn't care much for hot-shot celebrities such as himself. He kept his voice low, "Thank y—"

"Don't thank me," Axel sent him a bitter look, and Roxas scowled, remembering that Axel didn't like him, "I didn't do it for _you._ I did it for my headache," He turned around, then stopped to half-glance back, "But you're welcome," He muttered gruffly.

Roxas nodded stiffly, still not looking directly at Axel, "Are you sure I can just…"

"Keep them," Axel said shortly, walking away. "I've got more at home. You're not gonna come back anyway," He must have mistook Roxas's surprised face for a pout, because he suddenly added, "Don't be offended. I'm mean to everyone."

_No, you're not, _Roxas's thoughts roared as the redhead walked back to where Riku was. _You're a nice guy, Axel, or else you wouldn't have saved me from those girls. You hate the person I am now, but you did it anyway…UGH, I SHOULD BE MAD. FURIOUS AT YOU FOR EVEN **THINKING** THAT I WOULD EVEN SLEEP WITH ANYONE IN THIS TOWN…but for some really weird reason…I can't bring myself to get mad at you. _

_…Oh, I know why. It's cause you named your cat Sunshine. I can't get mad at a guy who has about ten piercings and a hundred tattoos…and names his cat Sunshine. That's just too sad for words._

_

* * *

_**A/N: **I KNOW. OMG. THEY'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE BECAUSE AXEL IS NOT...(unlocks caps)... is not serious. Let's see if I can get something more to happen in the next chapter, but you know...I don't want things to be happening too fast. You don't want this fanfic to end at like chapter 10. Or something.

At least now you know how Axel acts towards both Roxases.

**&& **Interesting Fact #1: My friends think I'm bipolar ;^;

**r-e-v-i-e-w!**


	7. VII

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning: Hyper Axel is Hyper.** You have been warned. And Roxas continues to pretend that he doesn't like it. :D

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me.

* * *

**VII**

It wasn't until a month later that Roxas thought of a strange notion. Axel's hair. It was near the end of October, and Axel's hair was seemingly spikier than usual. All this time had passed, and Roxas still had the temptation to stand up (on a stool), and touch and play with Axel's hair. It seemed like lots of fun.

He supposed that Axel liked his hair like that, seeing as he never bothered to try and tackle it down. Once he had asked why Axel did not mind all the staring, which was mainly aimed at his hair. Axel had said,

"Nah, it's like a cutie magnet."

"…And it works?"

"Mmm... it attracted _you_, didn't it?"

In which Roxas responded, "…That was slightly pathetic, Axel, I'm sorry."

After that, a very dejected Axel had to deal with a mortified Roxas who ignored him for the rest of the day. The only thing that Roxas was usually ticked off about was that the redhead seemed to never be serious when it came to liking someone or flirting with someone. Roxas had hoped he would have no spare feelings towards Axel, but since that didn't work out, he decided not to _show _these feelings. Roxas liked to think that he was doing okay so far.

And there had only been one mentioning of Roxas DeRenzis. Axel had been ranting about him the day after, and near the end, Roxas had nearly gotten a heart attack. It had gone something like this:

"…and then these girls came and started fangirling over him. I had to give him my sunglasses. There goes my last pair."

"Really now?" Roxas had pretended to look surprised. _I thought you said you had more at home..._

"Yeah, it's like, why would you walk around the mall without hiding yourself? That's what really got me kinda mad but – hey, you have the same sunglasses as me. The ones I gave to the other Roxas," Axel had pointed to the shades sticking out from Roxas's bag. The boy's blood suddenly turned to ice as he slowly turned around to face them; he had put them in the day before since he had another shoot somewhere, and he had forgotten to take them out.

"O-oh, really?"

"Really," Axel took hold of them, and raised them in front of Roxas's face, "Hey, you know, you'd look exactly like him. Like that first day of school, I thought you were a blond and you could have totally pulled off a – hey, wait, where are you going?"

And that was when Roxas had snatched the shades, pivoted and rushed out the history room. So maybe Axel wasn't a _complete _fail, but at least he still couldn't recognize him. Roxas wanted to keep it that way.

Now, Roxas had finished his history presentation, and it was a lot easier than he had thought. Maybe because he only had a few lines; he had another feeling that the girls only wanted him in there because his looks were pretty. As he went back to his seat, he saw Axel twirling his pen around his fingers. Axel smirked,

"Where's your bow and arrow, Cupid?"

Roxas didn't say anything to that; his bow was strapped to his back, but the arrows, he had not been allowed to bring them. He held his hand out, "Pen please," As he started to reach for it, Axel yanked it out of the way. Roxas's eye twitched,

"Axeeel, I need to write my name on my rubric!" He didn't _have_ to, of course, since they only needed one rubric per group, but he just…wanted the pen back. Since Ms. Lockheart was too busy writing notes, Roxas made another grab for his pen. Just as his fingers started to touch the pen, Axel dropped it and caught Roxas's hand, catching the pen with his other. Roxas narrowed his eyes,

"Axel…"

"Aw, Roxas, we're holding hands!"

With his other hand, Roxas reached for the pen. Axel moved it down to his crotch, and Roxas scowled, "I'm not reaching there."

"You know you waaant to," The pen was then dropped down into the neck of Axel's shirt, "Down it goes~"

"Axel!" Roxas cried reproachfully. Axel let go of Roxas's hand and tapped at his chest, mockingly inviting Roxas to find the pen under his shirt. Roxas just stared.

"Oh, come on. It's just my chest. Would you rather me drop it down my pants?" Axel started roaming his hands over and under his shirt, raising his voice to a singing falsetto, "Roxaaaas. Come touch my sexxaaaay bodyyyyy. You know you wanna f—"

"No."

"– me right over here, Roxas! Eros equals erotic, Erosax! Oh, you see what I did there? Hey, feel here, I've got hard abs. Look, they're like—"

"It's okay."

Axel's high pitched voice turned into a lusty pant, "Rah...rah…ah..ahh…Raahxaaasss~"

"Axel, stop touching yourself," Ms. Lockheart suddenly interjected.

Axel froze, his face changing to a slight shade of crimson as Ms. Lockheart locked her gaze on him. Roxas grinned when she told the redhead to return the pen to Roxas, which he did sheepishly as soon as he found it. But he countered the color in his cheeks by paling when she started to say,

"Axel, is your group ready to present?"

"Uh…"

By the tone of his voice, Roxas already knew that Axel had nothing, and from the guilty looks that were exchanged by the group members, they probably had nothing as well. _Slackers…_

Yet they were forced to step up to the front of the class anyway. Axel was shifting his weight from one leg to the other while the rest of his group looked rather awkward just standing there. Roxas smirked; he wondered if Axel ever got embarrassed. But he had thought too soon. Rather than continuing to look shamefacedly down at his feet, Axel started to strut around the class.

And the high-pitched voice was back, "I'm Aphrodite~" He turned to one of his group members and pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder, "And I'm bee-_yoo-_ti-ful!"

Ms. Lockheart's face totally represented the three words: _What. The. Hell?_

Roxas supposed this was how Axel was going to improvise. The crimson-headed boy walked with a swagger as he faced another group member, "Hi, Hermes! I'm bee-_yoo-_ti-ful…er than youu~!"

"But I'm—"

"I don't care," Axel continued to walk around; "Lalala~ I'm bee-_yoo-_ti-ful~" He skipped girlishly from one side of the room to the other, and the class started giggling like mad.

It was a wonder that Ms. Lockheart didn't stop him. Perhaps she was too shocked to render any sort of speech. And then Axel started to sway his hips as he continued to flatter himself, talking about how pretty he was…and how beautiful everything about him was…

And Roxas kept his eyes on Axel's skinny hips.

Axel had leaned over a desk and pretended to blow a kiss towards the class, making a girl at the front swoon.

And Roxas kept his eyes on Axel's oh-so-_slender_ hips.

His eyes were locked even as that lean body started to make its way towards him. His eyes slowly travelled up to see Axel towering over him, "And this is my son, Eros! I gave birth to him and so he is my son."

"Way to state the obvious," Roxas said dryly.

Axel grinned, and in that moment, Roxas had no idea what happened. Axel picked him up suavely and lifted his feet off the ground. Roxas yelped in surprise, but Axel was already starting a rather dramatic speech, "Oh, dear son, let us go elope onto Earth where Ares and my husband cannot find me. We can live a world where I will feel no pain, and I will not have to live with such an ugly husband who cannot be as beautiful as I. Oh, Eros, my strikingly attractive son, once we're hidden in the deep valleys of the earth… _let's commit incest_."

"WHAT?" Roxas pushed Axel's nearing face away from his. Axel laughed, and Ms. Lockheart finally shook herself out of it,

"Axel! What are you _doing_?!"

Axel pretended to look innocent, "What? Isn't this how Aphrodite's supposed to act?"

"No," Ms. Lockheart looked scandalized, "I don't _think _so."

"Well, I'm the new, improved version."

"And what's that?"

"Axel-dite," Axel stated proudly. "Limited edition, got it memorized? There's only one in this entire world."

"Thank God for that," Ms. Lockheart rolled her eyes, "The rest of your group didn't even do anything," There were a few nervous chuckles from Axel's partners, "You don't have your project done, do you?"

"Nope."

The dark-haired teacher sighed, scribbling something down on the paper in front of her, "I'd send you down to Mr. Zexion, but I don't see the point in doing that. He'll probably send you back up," Axel just continued to smile, "Just have it done by next class, please, Axel?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And Axel?"

"Yes?"

Ms. Lockheart's eyes moved from Axel's broadly grinning face to Roxas's slowly-turning-red-and-dying-from-embarrassment one, shook her head once, and went back to her work. Roxas punched Axel's chest, as he was still being cradled in the redhead's arms, "Down."

"If you say so, my dear son," Axel snickered mockingly before letting Roxas stand on his feet again. The boy hurriedly dashed back to his seat, his eyes focused on the blank sheet of paper on his desk.

"Why would it be pointless if Axel got sent down to Zexion?" Roxas whispered to the person beside him as Axel started back to his desk. Roxas was already on the edge of his chair, and the guy leaned a little bit forward to whisper back,

"It's 'cause Zexion doesn't punish Axel. All he does is, once Axel's sent to his office, he already knows that Axel didn't do his work. The guy does all right in every class; it's just that he doesn't do his homework. Anyway, Zexion would see him, and all he'd do is call his mom. I don't know, I just think Axel's got it easy because—"

"He's rich?" Roxas guessed. Wasn't that how things worked sometimes? But the boy shook his head,

"No. Word got out that Zexion is Axel's uncle."

Roxas fell off his chair.

* * *

Roxas was frozen into shock when he saw Axel's group in the following period, only to hear Marluxia and Axel shooting pick-up lines at each other. He nearly crashed back into the door when he heard Marluxia say:

"Say that to the next person that walks through the do—Oh, here's one. Go."

"If you were a door…I'd bang you _hard_."

Marluxia hooted with laughter, and Roxas's jaw dropped. _Please don't tell me he **just **said that to me. _He didn't remember them having lunch at this time. But it was nice to see that he had walked in to see that Axel was _not _surrounded by a cloud of gray smoke. The redhead's face split into a smile as soon as he saw him,

"Oh, I'd bang _you._"

Roxas's response was vaguely less enthusiastic, "Axel?"

"Nice of you to come and join us," Axel tapped his fingers on the floor beside him. Roxas, however, did not budge.

"Why are you here?" He glanced at Marluxia, who was basically being crushed by Larxene's possessive arm around his shoulders, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Marluxia shrugged, "Gym ruins my hair."

Larxene drawled, "I have a spare."

"Hey! That rhymes—ow! Okay, okay, I get it. No more rhyming."

Roxas never knew that Larxene had the same lunch as he did, but he felt that he wouldn't want to be alone with just her and Sora anyway. He turned to Axel,

"Gym too?"

"No, I have that last," Axel nudged Riku with his elbow, earning a groan from the silver-haired boy, "Our teacher's not here, and our supply teacher is a fail and let us out because he was lazy," He patted on the ground again, "Come on, I don't bite…_hard_," Axel muttered in an undertone. Roxas didn't hear him, and he stepped over beside Axel. Before Axel could say anything, Roxas piped up,

"Is gym fun?" He had never tried it.

Riku just looked blank, but Axel seemed to think about it, "Eh, well, it depends if you like sports. Thing is, though, they won't let me wear what I want in gym."

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Roxas stared, his voice laced with suspicion, "Nothing?"

Axel nodded cheerily, "Yeah, they say if I walk around naked, I'll distract the boys and girls and then our class would suffer from a severe case of blood loss," A smile pulled at Roxas's lips, a nice mental picture playing through his head. Axel caught it, and a perverted grin appeared, "Undressing me with your eyes already? Tsk, tsk."

Riku spared Roxas the pain of spluttering a coherent answer, "Where's your…um…friend?" Though he seemed to forget, Roxas had a strong feeling that Riku knew Sora's name.

"Doing a quiz. He missed it last class, so if he sees I'm not in the cafeteria, he should know where I am. He's a smart kid."

"Speaking of last class," Axel rubbed his hands together; the bathroom was chilly. He turned to Riku, "Roxas rejected me in history class."

"Hey! Wait…"

"He didn't wanna make love with me," Axel made a small, disappointed whine, "Comfort me, Rik—"

"Hell, no," Riku swiveled around so that his back was turned to Axel. Axel's jaw dropped, his big, jade eyes swiftly moving onto Marluxia and Larxene. They both made identical faces and moved closer to each other. Roxas had never seen Axel look so lost. Without a second though, he touched Axel's arm in reassurance.

And Axel grabbed his hand, nearly pulling Roxas's arm out of its socket when he sucked him into a tight embrace.

"Haha, Riku, told you my puppy-dog eyes would work."

"Nndinnwor!" Roxas mumbled angrily into Axel's shirt.

"Whaat?" Axel called, ruffling the brown wig with affection. Roxas had been a little scared that it would fall off, but thankfully, nothing happened. But being this close again with someone else, it made him horribly dizzy. He tried shoving away from Axel,

"I can't _breathe,_ Axel! Y-You're suffocating me!"

The redhead instantly let go. Just when Roxas thought that Axel would smile at him again, he was given a semi-annoyed look. Axel rolled his eyes, "Can't handle a hug?"

"No…"

"Either you're really homophobic or you've got a girlfriend."

"Or maybe I just don't like being touched," Roxas snapped, "You're not being serious anyway. You're never serious," And that was mainly the reason why Roxas was so livid about Axel touching him. Not because of that _really _bad memory he had with Sephiroth, but because Axel never seemed to _act _somber when it came to things that Roxas _was _serious about. The moment he said it though, he felt incredibly bad. Axel blinked, and Roxas quickly looked away. He caught Riku's eyes and the other boy tilted his head, sending him a small smile:

_He'll recover from it._

There was a bit of sadness in the smile as well, and it almost seemed to Roxas that Riku was trying to say: _But it's true. He's never serious about this kind of stuff. _

_Was Axel scared of a committed relationship?_

It made Roxas a little sad. _Riku _would know. He had gone out with Axel before. Maybe that was why their relationship had ended? Because Axel couldn't be serious enough to be in a relationship, and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon…though Axel seemed to be rather affected by Roxas's words.

Roxas felt he needed to change the subject, and he needed to change it soon. Luckily, Marluxia came in handy for that, "So you don't have a girlfriend?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here," Roxas did his best to respond happily, "I'd be with her."

"Aw, you don't wanna hang with the cool kids?" Riku smirked. Roxas shrugged heartily.

"Do you guys have girlfriends?" He half-glanced at Axel, "Or boyfriends?"

This topic seemed to cheer Axel up a little bit, for he suddenly lit up, "I haven't had a girlfriend since grade eight. And my last boyfriend was with Riku, but that was a long time ago, so now I'm happily single! …In case anyone's wondering."

"We're not," His friends, save Roxas, who had bit his tongue, muttered.

Marluxia did a little dance with his fists, "I'm with Larx," Though the girl seemed to be highly abusive of her boyfriend, he was still happy to be with her. Roxas decided not to question it, for the girl gave everyone in the room a glare. Marluxia hugged her around the waist, swaying side to side as he said in a sing-song voice, "Aw, Larx, why do you have to be such a boy to protect me?"

"Because you're such a girl?"

Marluxia shut up.

"You've got someone you like though, don't you, Roku?" Riku propped his elbow on his knees, gazing intently at the 'brunet'. Roxas was startled by the question,

"What makes you say that?"

"It's high school. _Someone _must have caught your interest by now."

Roxas could faintly feel Axel's arm brushing against his, "Nope."

"He's lying," Larxene accused, "Look how red he's turning."

By this very statement, Roxas started to redden even more. "Nonono, I really don't like anyo—"

"Who is it?" Marluxia chirped, "You could tell me and I could hook you two up. I might know her. I know practically everyone in the school."

"That's because you've dated half the people in the schoo—oh, shiiiet, I wasn't supposed to say anything."

"I don't like any girls!" Roxas raised his voice as Larxene started pummeling fists into Marluxia's shoulder. The pink-haired boy squealed with pain, but Axel heard him. The boy could tell that the redhead was slowly piecing Roxas's sentence together. It was like he was dissecting all the information hidden inside it.

"You don't like girls?"

The bathroom suddenly became quiet, like Axel had just said: I make out with rainbow sheep.

"I said I didn't like _any _girls," Roxas said, slapping his palm to his forehead, "But no, I don't like girls," The silence was almost deafening. _What? Did I say something wrong? There isn't anything wrong with liking _just _guys, was there? _Roxas looked down to his black shoes. Axel broke the ice,

"Well, I guess you can still like Larx then."

"Axel, I _will _kill you one day."

"You don't care?" Roxas couldn't help but ask. Riku and Axel made a face, pointing at themselves as if to say: _Hellooo? Who have you been hanging out with for the past two months? We like guys too! _Axel's smile was too big for his face, and him and the aqua-marine eyed boy seemed to exchange looks,

"We just thought you were straight, that's all."

"I say he should prove it!" Marluxia pumped his fist into the air playfully. Roxas stared at him, eyes wide with uneasiness.

"Prove what? That I'm not straight?" That was the strangest thing that he had ever heard, "What am I supposed to do? Invade another boy's mouth with my tongue?"

Axel opened his mouth, "Right over here, Roxy."

"Again, not being serious," Roxas turned away, waving Axel away dismissively. Marluxia and Riku both had identical, foreboding roguish looks on their faces, and Roxas knew that they were already up to no good.

"It can just be something small," Riku grinned slyly.

"Like lap-dancing on someone– a boy," Marluxia added. "With no hesitation."

"_Say what?_"

They all turned to Axel, who had frozen halfway making awkward thrusting motions again, "What?" Axel pouted, "I do this when I'm bored. Don't hate," He dropped his hands down from behind his head, "But if you want to lap-dance on me, I'll be more than happy to help."

Roxas glanced at Marluxia with a pleading look, but Larxene was already throwing him a look that would send even the bravest men running for their life. It was then that Axel began to look victorious, when all of a sudden, the door behind Roxas swung open.

"Roku! And Riku! Oh, and everyone else – I knew you were all in here. I was starting to wonder—"

"I'll lap-dance on _him_," Roxas hastily said, pulling Sora in by the arm. Riku and Axel's eye twitched, and Sora's voice raised an octave higher,

"_What?! _R-Roku…wait…w-what?"

"They're telling me to prove that I'm not straight."

"SO?!" Sora looked incredulous, "You don't _have _to prove anything just because they say so. And since when did _you _know how to lap-dance?"

"I don't," Roxas admitted, "But it doesn't look _that _hard. But it's either you, or Axel. Or Riku, but…" The silver-haired boy grinned, but he didn't say anything. Roxas tugged at Sora's arm, "It'll be ten seconds. I swear. They wouldn't stop bugging me and they were asking who I liked and—"

"Ah, okay, okay, I get it," Sora mulled over it for what seemed to be minutes. Axel and Riku were standing stiffly by the side as Marluxia tapped at the watch around his wrist,

"Congratulations, I'm turning seventy tomorrow."

"Okay, _fine,_ I'll do it," Sora peered at Roxas, "Ten seconds, right?" He sat on the edge of the lower sinks.

"Make it fifteen," Larxene sneered, and Marluxia nodded in agreement. Sora sat rigidly, almost as stiff as a wooden board. Roxas walked back and forth in front of him awkwardly, still trying to decide how he was going to do this. In truth, he had never done a lap-dance before, but it couldn't be _that _hard, could it?

"No hesitations," Marluxia reminded him.

"What are you waiting for, background music?" Axel teased.

Roxas frowned, "I can do this without music. And once I do this, you better all stop bugging me," He heard Sora faintly mumble something that sounded suspiciously close to: _Please, hurry and get this over with…_ Roxas had no idea what to do. He swayed his hips a little as he stood in front of Sora, careful not to laugh or else he would screw up. He was sure he was doing it right; he had seen Demyx demonstrating this every time he got drunk.

Was he supposed to grind as well? He did that anyway, dropping down before rocking his hips against Sora's still-unbending frame. But at least Sora wasn't _moving_ with him; he was sure that if he did it with Axel, the redhead would grind against him more. Or grab his hips to make him grind harder. He was getting dizzy from thinking too hard about it; how long has it been?

"Kiss him on the cheek!" Marluxia whooped.

Roxas almost lost his balance and nearly fell on top of Sora. The brunet peeked one eye open through his lids, and Roxas paused. Might as well, since he was doing the lap-dancing already. This was just for fun…right? He didn't know, but he whirled around and leaned in close to Sora's cheek.

He let a tiny gasp escape his lips as he was suddenly yanked back by the shirt; the outer _molecules _of his lips didn't even _touch _Sora's soft skin. The next thing he knew, they were being pressed against Axel's white golf shirt, and Axel's strong, sturdy arm was around his shoulders, almost protectively. Roxas's face flushed as he heard Axel's deep voice, "That's enough," He said through clenched teeth.

For a fraction of a second, Roxas thought: _Is he actually being serious this time?_

But the teasing tone decorated Axel's voice once more, "Are you getting turned on by watching two almost-lookalike boys dancing with each other? Larxene's not happy, Marley."

"Sora? You can open your eyes now. It's over…" Riku waved his hand in front of the unresponsive boy. Sora's shoulders sagged as the tension washed away from his body. With a weak grin, he forced himself to look at Roxas,

"Roku, you're _never _doing that to me again."

"I don't plan on doing it again," Roxas laughed, twisting around a little to see his friend.

"And I don't plan on seeing that again either," Axel mumbled. Roxas glanced up questionably. Axel bent down a little to meet Roxas's eye level, and Roxas's heart swelled. _Was Axel going to say something import—_

"Do me next time, okay?" Axel bared his canine teeth in a wide grin as he pointed at himself brightly.

_…never mind._

Axel tapped Roxas on the nose before straightening up to laugh at something that Riku had said to Sora. Roxas pushed his face into Axel's shirt wearily and groaned. Faintly, he heard Riku asking Sora whether or not he was sending anyone Boo Grams, since Halloween was coming up soon.

"What are Boo Grams?" Roxas asked. He'd never heard of such thing.

"Something Student Council does," Riku shrugged, "I'm only in it because it'll look good on my resume but buy some for someone anyway. Our school's kinda broke and we kinda need the money. You just pay a dollar; write someone's name on a piece of paper, and on Halloween, said person shall get your candy. The end. It's more like a friendship, lover thing, so if you don't have friends, don't expect any candy. Axel's not expecting any this year."

Axel pretended to throw a punch at Riku, and the silver-haired male playfully ducked his head just in time. Sora shrugged blithely, "I'll see."

As Larxene threatened her boyfriend to send her one, Roxas couldn't help but wonder whether or not Axel was sending anyone any candy. The thought was bleak and very unlikely though. But the second thought of sending Axel a Boo Gram anonymously crossed his mind.

Roxas smiled.

* * *

**A/N: **At least now we know what the next chapter is gonna be about. :D And thanks, reviewers. I am slowly trying to hack around Netnanny. It's so homo. D: Also, chapters will start going slower because I really, really, **REALLY** have to focus on Chemistry and Physics. You know you're suicidal and asian when you take all three sciences... and my school's not semestered...so... I have it everyday. Whoopee.

**Here's a chapter for a really bad week. **;__;  
**Interesting Fact #2: **I printed my chapters, brought it to school for my friend to read (she likes to steal them when I'm not looking). I take it, and the next thing I know, she pounces on me and tacklerapes me on the table, and then at the wall, and yanks the papers away from me. My stomach will never feel the same again. She's a vicious one, I tell you.

Thanks for reading the chapter~


	8. VIII

**Summary:**All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning****:** **...hyper axel is hyper again? :D **Mentioning of rape, but...you know. Nothing much. :D

**Pairings****:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer:**Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me~!

**AN:** Bad day is bad, but I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**VIII**

"You're not being serious anyway. You're _never _serious."

And Axel knew those words were true, though it was still a pierce in the heart all the same. If only Roxas knew…that it wasn't on purpose. Now it was just habit. He couldn't help it anymore. It hurt a little but he knew he'd get over it. And he did so a few seconds later.

Now as Axel held Roxas by his side, his mind was still whirling in a confused mess as he tried to understand this..._feeling._ Confusion was definitely part of it, but there was something else that bothered him when he saw Roxas 'seducing' another guy. He would have pulled Roxas away earlier, but it was only because Sora had zero to little reaction to the lap dance that he didn't pull the other boy away earlier. He had bent down to speak to Roxas; he wanted to tell him:

_Don't do that. Not to anyone else._

But somehow, he couldn't get the words out. Roxas was looking at him so hopefully, and something else, something completely different from what he wanted to say, came out of his mouth, "Do me next time, okay?"

Something flickered in Roxas's eyes, and Axel mentally slapped himself. _Why did I say that?_

_Maybe 'cause you're jealous? _He could hear a voice telling him from the back of his head. He frowned. _I'm _**_not _**_jealous. It's just a dance. And it's not like we have some sort of...special relationship or whatever. No. I'm not jealous._

_...At least, I don't think I am._

* * *

As Roxas walked down the hallway later on that day and was about to turn the corner, he heard his name being called out, "ROKU!" He whirled around to see Riku speed-walking towards him. He glanced around as if checking to see if anyone was there to eavesdrop. He turned to Roxas, "Can I ask you a question?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "…Okay." He had never seen the silver-head look so flustered,

"Can you – I mean, I was just wondering, cause I'm handing out the Boo Grams on Halloween and I'm – Well, okay, it's me _and _Xion, but…I just want to…uh…okay…it's just by curiousity… Do you know what Sora's homeroom number is?"

Roxas's jaw dropped, and he shook his head, "Um… I think it's 103."

Riku's lip curled upward, "Thanks," He wrote it on the palm of his hand, and Roxas nodded, preparing to leave again. He wasn't exactly headed anywhere; he didn't feel like going to his class. He was on a 'washroom break'. Riku didn't seem in much of a hurry either,

"Are you still mad at Axel?"

Roxas stared at him, "Why would you think _that_? I wasn't mad at him in the first place."

"Huh? Oh," Riku's squinted at him and so Roxas copied his face. They had a stare down for a few seconds, and then Riku took a deep breath, "Well, okay…but don't blame him. If he's not serious, I mean. He's had it rough ever since he came into high school."

"What do you mean?"

His green eyes took another sweep across the hallway, but the coast was clear, "When people found out that Axel liked guys, it was like 'okay, time to act like a freaking homophobic and make fun of the gay guy'. Being a niner, he couldn't really do anything. He was already attracting a lot of attention because of his flaming hair, but when he realized that he could joke around the fact that he was gay and then no one would make fun of him, he started to do exactly that. Now, I guess he just can't stop himself. He's been doing that for—"

"Three to four years?" Roxas guessed. Riku nodded. "Is that why…you two didn't last? Sorry," He added, in case Riku would get offended. Riku just blinked.

"He can't help it," He repeated. "Axel's Axel."

Roxas nodded, the gears in his head clicking to try and understand. _I'll just have to do something to change that then._

* * *

"I'm gonna send Axel a Boo Gram," Roxas declared to Sora as they stood in the cafeteria the next day. Sora glanced at him, a wide smile on his face,

"Oooh, Roku, you like _someone_, don't you?" He winked and nudged his friend at the waist, earning a groan from Roxas. It took everything in him not to blush,

"No, I could just send it to him…as his friend," Roxas handed the Student Council Member one dollar and the girl gave him a piece of paper. She explained to him what he had to do, but Roxas was only half-listening; He was trying to remember how to spell Axel's last name. He took the piece of paper to the side and Sora followed,

"I don't see you sending _me _one."

Roxas's face fell, "Oh…yeah…"

Sora waved the thought away, "It's okay. Hayner and Kairi are going to send me one, so I'll live. It's not like you _have_ to send me one anyway, and I know half the kids in this school are low on cash. One dollar is like their month's allowance."

Roxas laughed, "Are you sending one then? I thought you were going to send Riku one," Roxas asked as he bent down to write Axel's full name. He paused, thinking about it. Sora leaned against the table, glancing around the cafeteria,

"I dunno…" Sora raised an eyebrow, "Why would I send _Riku _one?"

Roxas made a face, "Aren't you two friends?" _Don't you like him? _Had been Roxas's second question. Sora must have been reading his mind, because he scoffed,

"Oh, I thought you were implying the fact that I liked him," Sora shook his head, grinning, "Yeah, we're good friends. It's kinda funny how we have a lot in common. But I mean, I don't like him _that _way, you know?" For a split second, he looked rather confused, like he suddenly didn't know what he was talking about, "I like…girls. I've liked girls since as long as I can…remember…" He shot a look at Roxas, "Don't get me wrong, though. I don't care if you like boys. I'm just saying I…" Again, there was the perplexed, lost look, "…I don't like Riku."

Roxas decided not to contradict Sora. Maybe he was just confused. It was then that they heard someone yell from all the way across the room,

"SOOORRRRRR-AAAAAA!" The brunet was suddenly flung to the side as Kairi latched herself onto him again. Her blue eyes were sparkling with excitement, and Sora stuttered,

"K-Kairi...what...?"

"You're gonna send me a Boo Gram, right, Sora?"

"I - uh - maybe?"

Kairi seemed content with the answer, but Roxas was sure that Sora meant: 'Well, I don't wanna hurt your feelings so I can't say no...'

As the two continued to talk, Roxas scribbled down Axel's name, shifting his weight onto his other leg as he continued to bend over to write. He started spacing out, thinking about how long he still had to be here. October was nearly done. That left him about eight months for school. As long as Sephiroth didn't know, he could still come in grade twelve…but Axel would not be there.

His pencil fell to the floor. Sighing, Roxas stooped down to pick it up. Next thing he knew, he felt a hand coming down on his—

"You've got a really cute butt, you know that?"

Roxas nearly jumped a meter high as he whirled around to face Axel, swiping the guy's wandering hands away. "AXEL!" The widening smirk on Axel's face was not making Roxas any happier. Ever since Axel had found out that he liked boys, the redhead could _not _keep his hands off Roxas. It was getting irritating; not to mention every time Axel would surprise-attack him, an image of Sephiroth would appear in his mind. It just _happened. _

Roxas was shaking, but not from anger. It had really been a scare.

"Don't _do _that," Roxas hissed, the paper in his hands being crushed into a tight ball. Axel didn't hear the tremble in Roxas's voice; instead, he smirked,

"Jailbait."

"You're only a year older, pervert."

"Still, I can't help it," Axel snickered, "You're just sticking your butt out there for me to touch and…well, shit happens."

"It's your fault if I have nightmares tonight," Roxas put out, handing the crushed paper to the girl, who was now curiously eyeing Axel. It would appear they knew each other, but Axel wasn't paying any attention to her. Roxas doubted that he was going to have nightmares, and it seemed like Axel was cynical about that too.

"Nightmares? I'm sure you mean wet dreams," Axel winked, "Who're you sending that to?" He glanced over at the girl who had been looking at him earlier, "Xion, who's that sent to?" The raven-haired girl glanced down at the paper in her hands and Roxas shook his head frantically, closing the girl's fingers back around the paper,

"Don't tell him."

"Aw, Roxas, you're torturing me here. Tell me who it is," Axel gazed at him intently.

Roxas shrugged, rolling his eyes up in an attempt not to look into his friend's eyes, "It's just someone."

"Someone _special?_"

"No."

"Someone _on your mind_?" Axel started laughing as he ran away from Roxas's fists. Axel caught one of Roxas's hands (once again) and just as the boy was about to pull away, Axel cupped Roxas's chin with his thumb and forefinger, forcing the boy to look at him in the eyes. Axel lifted an eyebrow, "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

Roxas didn't say anything. The touch of Axel's hands on his face just wiped his thoughts blank. He just hoped that since Axel was incapable of keeping his hands off him, that he would get used to this particular touch, just like he had gotten used to Demyx's. Surprisingly, it didn't take much will power to resist the urge to shove Axel's hand away.

However, it took all of _Axel's _will power not to reach around and grab Roxas's butt again.

* * *

Though Roxas had managed not to jump as much around Axel anymore (especially when the crimson-haired boy kept grabbing him from behind), Halloween was never a good day for him. All the dark, eerie auras that hung around the houses, it was just another invitation for those _dreams _to come back.

It was one AM in the morning. Demyx had been sitting quietly in the living room, a book propped onto his lap. It was very _unlike _him to read, but a certain blond model had told him that Zexion was the uncle of his friend. And said uncle was found reading a book every evening. Demyx was nearly falling asleep, and his short attention span was making him glance around the room every other second. However, he would always return his blue eyes back to the book.

_There should be a book called: **How to seduce your kid's hot principal.** Something useful to buy…_

Just as he was looking for another excuse to distract him from reading, he heard soft mumbles coming from his room. Demyx flipped the book over, dog-earing the page. He listened intently,

"…"

Just as he thought he was hearing things, he caught Roxas's voice, "_Leave…_please…"

Demyx shot up straight in his chair. He checked the time. He knew Roxas was having a nightmare, but he didn't know whether or not he should wake him up. Maybe the nightmare would go away and Roxas would be able to sleep again; Demyx knew that if Roxas were to wake up now, he would not be able to go back to sleep later. Demyx tried to focus on the book,

"_**JUST GO AWAY**__!"_

Demyx leapt up from his chair like a rocket and darted into his room. Roxas was thrashing about on the bed, his eyes squeezed shut. There was something shimmering on his face – tears? Demyx rushed over beside him, frantically deciding what to do.

"Um…uh…Roxas?"

"_Please…please…get away…._"

He awkwardly tried to pat Roxas on the head, but the blond's flailing arms kept him from doing so. He wondered if Roxas could hear him through his sleep, "Roxas, it's just a dream! Just…uh…I…really don't—"

"**NO**!"

"Roxas, you gotta wake up…" He poked Roxas's leg, which had involuntarily jerked as soon as he did, "OWW, _ROXAAAS_, YOU KICKED MY _FACE_!"

Demyx fell to the floor, clutching his nose. With a choked cry, Roxas snapped awake from hearing Demyx's scream. Short gasps escaped between his pants, and Roxas realized his own fingernails were digging into the palms of his sweaty hands. Demyx groaned, rubbing his nose to see if it was broken. The moment Roxas had woken up, everything became deadly silent. The only thing that could be heard was Roxas's heaving breaths and Demyx's stifled whimpers as he felt his nose.

"I'm _never _waking you up again," Demyx stood up, clear of a nosebleed.

"He's _not _here, is he?" Roxas clutched the front of Demyx's shirt, pulling his guardian closer to him. His eyes were wide with fear, "He was just…he was in the…the room and…"

"A dream," Demyx declared firmly. "He's still overseas."

"I-I thought…"

"Roxas," Demyx lowered his voice; for once, he tried to sound serious, "You _know _it was just one time, and you _know _why he left to go overseas, don't you?" Roxas stared at him through wide eyes, almost disbelieving. He managed to whisper,

"Yes…because…he wanted to give me…time to recover, and have some alone time," Demyx had opened his mouth to say something else but Roxas continued, "I know he feels bad for doing it…he knows _why _he did it…but I can't _forget _it…Dem…_I_ _can't forget it_. He _raped _me, I _can't FORGET IT!" _ Roxas's voice rose to a hysterical, high-pitched sound.

Demyx grabbed Roxas by the shoulders, "ROXAS! Look at me, look at me, here," Demyx pointed at his blue eyes, "Right here. It's over. Remember, he won't do it again. You told me – he promised you. He just…made a mistake, Roxas. I know you can't forget it…but…" He wiped a free-falling tear from Roxas's cheek, "He won't touch you again. I know he won't."

"But what if—"

"He won't."

The assurance in Demyx's voice calmed Roxas down somewhat. He fell back into his fluffy pillow, but this time, Demyx didn't stroke his hair. It seemed like he was still scared Roxas would have an arm spaz and his hand would shoot up at his face. But Roxas didn't mind.

"Just think of something happy…like…" Demyx smiled happily, a thought striking him. It was the first word that made him smile first, "Zexion's nephew."

"Axel?" Roxas whispered.

"Yeah, him. You like him, don't you?"

"…He's…nice…"

"So…think about him. Just until you go to sleep. No more thoughts about _that night_, okay, Roxas?" Demyx found that it was impossible to pull of a serious tone. A tiny smile pulled at Roxas's lips, but a small tremble still shook him. He closed his eyes as best he could, and tried to recall those jaded green eyes, the red hair that Roxas had instantly fell in love with, and…oh, let's not forget those sexy tattoos.

It took Roxas about an hour to fall back asleep. After that, Roxas didn't wake up until Demyx called him for a Halloween-decorated pancake breakfast.

* * *

The start of the day hadn't been a good one either. Roxas kept blanking out the entire morning, even when Riku visited his first period class to hand out the assigned Boo Grams. Roxas's heart fell when he found that he didn't receive one from Axel, but he got many from anonymous…girls. Many counted as in Riku had to keep coming back to his desk. The teacher was getting rather annoyed too,

"Can you go any faster? I've got a class to teach."

"Sorry, Mr. Vexen. It's just… if I dump the whole bag onto Roku's desk, people will get jealous," Riku muttered, handing Roxas his tenth one. "I think you've got about sixty more in here…"

"Mm, don't I feel special," Roxas mused. Vexen rolled his eyes as he turned back to the chalkboard. Riku gave the last of the Boo Grams out and as he passed by Roxas's desk, he slowed down. He waved something in front of Roxas and the boy blinked, reading the Boo Gram:

**Happy Halloween!  
To: Riku****  
****Room: 124**  
**From: Rokusasu Hale~**

Roxas stared. _I don't remember sending Riku a…Oh…This looks…suspiciously like Sora's writing. Oh, crap, _**_now _**_what do I say? _

"Thanks," Riku grinned, but his aquamarine eyes were searching Roxas for a straight answer. Roxas's blue eyes flickered up to meet Riku's, and the debate on telling Riku the truth ensued.

_Tell him! _**_DON'T TELL HIM. _**_Oh, eff, just tell him Sora sent i—_**_NO! Let him figure it out on his—_**_Tell him ~_

"You're welcome." _Lucky Sora doesn't know I wrote _**_his _**_name on Axel's Boo Gram. _

"Sora didn't send me one," Riku said, but it sounded like there was a question embedded in there as well. Roxas shrugged,

"Maybe he didn't have enough money."

Riku decided to let it drop.

At lunch, in the bathroom as usual, things got even more confusing, and Roxas was already tired from lack of sleep. His head started to ache when Axel started counting all his Boo Grams. He had gotten half of what Roxas had, but Roxas didn't feel the need to rub it in Axel's face. Axel picked up his candy bars, throwing the ones he didn't like to Marluxia.

"Wow, they all spelt my last name wrong except for…Sora!"

"Eh?" The brunet glanced up.

"Congratulations, spiky-head, you are the only one who spelt my last name right. Holy…even Selphie? Man, it's not _that_ difficult to spell."

"But…" Sora exchanged looks with Roxas, who made an obvious nod-of-head towards Riku's back. Sora immediately covered up his previous word, "Yeah, I – yeah, yeah, I did," He sounded so muddled, Roxas wouldn't even have bought that lie. Axel shrugged,

"I don't know why people always spell it wrong."

"Maybe because it's hard?" Roxas said.

"Only for you," Axel winked, pointing down at his crotch. Roxas face-palmed. _Dirty Axel is dirty. _Axel passed Riku another one of his Boo Grams after realizing another person had spelt his name wrong. Roxas was incredibly happy that Axel had only kept his, but…the redhead believed that Sora had sent it. Roxas toyed with one of his Smarties boxes, feeling slightly insignificant as he watched Marluxia feed Larxene a chocolate, which she hesitantly accepted.

"What's wrong, Roxas? You look so tired."

Roxas shook his head, unable to bring his eyes up to look at Axel's green eyes, "I just didn't get much sleep last night," He stifled a yawn, "I never really liked Halloween. Demyx always dresses me up in all these ridiculous costumes."

"Who's Demyx?" Axel asked quickly.

"My guardian," Roxas really yawned this time, and when his audience all gave him questioning looks, he said, "My parents died when I was young, so he takes care of me," That was his so-called practiced speech. He had equivocated; his parents _had _died and Demyx technically _was _his guardian. He had just left out the part where he was _supposed _to be the nephew of the guy who owns a model agency. And that he was also the guy that Axel highly disliked.

"Oh," Was all they said. Sora was the only one who gave him an extra big hug, "It's okay, Roku~!"

"I'm not sad," Roxas said, bewildered, but he accepted the hug anyway. "He likes your uncle," He said, the statement directed to Axel.

"Zexion?" Axel sounded highly amused, "Really now…"

"Really."

Axel didn't say anything to that. "You could sleep now if you like," Axel offered, patting on his lap, "We've got about—"

"Two minutes," Riku informed. Axel's face dropped. Roxas shook his head; he could feel his eyes drooping.

"I'll just sleep in English class. I understand everything that's going on in class right now anyway, and plus, he moved me to the back. I'm sure Mr. Saix won't mind…as long as he doesn't see me," He pushed on Axel's shoulder to get onto his feet, "So, I guess I should start heading off to class…before I pass out."

Giving a half-hearted wave to his friends, he stumbled out the door

* * *

"I should get going too," Sora said, pulling on Riku's arm, "It's not like Xiggy minds if we're late for music class, but we should get there on time anyway."

Axel cocked his head to the side, letting out a weary groan, "Ughhh, I don't want to go to Xemnas's class. Hell, I don't even know why I'm taking Physics. Do I need to know all this to be a hooker in the future? No, I don't think so," Marluxia laughed as he helped Larxene onto her feet.

Riku glanced down at his watch, "Oh, sh—I have to go to my locker to get my math. I forgot to do it so I'm gonna have to do it during music. I'll see you in the room later!" He dashed out the door, Marluxia and Larxene on his tail. Soon, it was only Sora and Axel in the washroom. And the random boy in the furthest stall.

Sora wiggled his toes in his shoes, "Well…bye, Axel," He _just _spun around to leave when Axel grabbed hold of his arm. Sora froze; _oh, please don't tell me he's going to kiss me because I got his last name right. ROXAS, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU— _

"Spell my last name."

Sora stared at him, "What?"

Axel narrowed his eyes, "Spell my last name, Sora."

Sora closed his eyes. _I don't even _**_remember _**_his last name… _"Um…K…O…uh…" Axel pouted, and Sora threw his hands up into the air, "Okay, okay! I don't know it. I didn't _send _you that Boo Gram. It wasn't me!"

Axel blew air from the corner of his lips, letting go of Sora. He rolled his eyes up, "K-U-R-O-S-A-I-R-I. It's like Kew-row-sigh-ree. How hard is it to spell that? Everyone ends up putting a double O for some reason," But he grinned at Sora, "I knew it wasn't you though. Who was it then?"

Sora looked down at his shoes, his hands behind his back, "…ku."

"Hm?" Axel leaned in closer, "What was that? Did I hear…" He beamed like a happy five-year-old child who just got a prize for answering a question right, "Roxas's name? Was that it? Ku? Roku? ROXAS?"

"Mmmm…" Sora nodded, "Remember, I didn't say anything! Don't tell Roku!"

Axel smirked, "Mmm…I won't. But here, do me a favor, okay?" He took out a pen and wrote on the palm of Sora's hand Riku's address. "We're having a Halloween party at Riku's house. Tell Roxas he's invited, and you are too."

"Really?!" Sora looked excited. Axel brought him back to Earth by giving him an extra jab with the tip of the pen,

"Tell Roxas. Remember! And don't forget to remember!"

"I will!" And he dashed out the restroom. The blue-haired boy that had been in the washroom earlier walked out the door after Sora, giving Axel a strange look. As he left, Axel called out,

"Did you know it's healthy to wash your hands after you piss?"

The blue-haired boy ignored him. Axel sighed, his mind wandering back to the Boo Gram in his hand. He should have known, since beside the **S **in Sora's name, there had been a half-written, scribbled out **R. **He held the piece of paper in his hand, staring at it for a while.

Then he put it into his back pocket, leaving the rest of his Boo Grams on the bathroom floor.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Roxas had gotten enough sleep in English class, but he was still drowsy, like everywhere he walked was on a cloud. He was just so _tired; _he was going to have to take a nap when he got home. Everyone seemed to be busy today, going to parties and trick or treating and whatnot. No one had invited him anywhere. Sora had come to him in the middle of the day to tell him something, but he had forgotten what he was about to say.

As Roxas descended down the stairs, another fairy wing from one of the costumed girls (It must have been the sixteenth one that day), whacked him across the face.

"Sorry," Roxas mumbled, though he had no idea why _he _was the one apologizing. His books were propped on his arms as he made his way down the second flight of stairs. Why did this school have so many levels?

Roxas glanced up once more to see Hayner in front of him. He was arguing with another boy, who was taller than him, his blond hair capped under a black beanie.

"And I'm telling you that _I _won that Struggle match!" Hayner shouted, pushing the boy back. A crowd started to form around the two boys, and Roxas made a face. _In the middle of the stairs? Really? Honestly? _He resisted another strong urge to roll his eyes.

"You really think a lamer like you can beat me?" Beanie boy smirked, returning the shove. Hayner fell back into Roxas and the two of them stumbled back. Hayner muttered a quick apology before leaping at the boy's throat,

"Seifer, you liar!"

Roxas picked up his fallen books, trying his best to ignore the scene. What was so important about Struggle anyway? Whatever that was, it seemed like it was a waste of time. He started down the stairs once more.

Bad idea.

Seifer had only been pushed back once, but that was enough force to send Roxas tumbling down the stairs. A few girls gasped in shock as Roxas saw a whirl of gray and white stairs. He might have hit his head somewhere, but he wasn't sure. He cried out, and in two seconds, he was in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. It was suddenly hushed; even Seifer and Hayner stopped fighting.

The first thought that passed through Roxas's head was: _DID MY WIG FALL OFF?!_

Face still pressed against the floor, his hand gingerly felt the top of his head. Still his fake hair. _Congratulations, Demyx, for making durable wigs. _He breathed a sigh of relief, but everywhere on his body was aching. He couldn't even find the strength to move his legs. He continued to lie there.

"Is he dead?"

"Seifer, you _killed_ him!"

"I did _not - _Anyway, it was _your _fault, stupid lamer!"

Someone poked him on the side and he groaned, "That's…ow…not the way to help…I can't move…"

"ROXAS?" Roxas stopped breathing as he heard the familiar voice of his favorite redhead, "ROXAS, IS THAT YOU? I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU!"

He heard hurried footsteps making their way towards him, so Roxas decided not to trouble himself by moving. He was suddenly turned onto his back, and the light from the ceiling was suddenly blocked by Axel's worried face, "…Did you just jump down the stairs?"

"Yeah, I was feeling suicidal today. Of course not! I was pushed," Roxas clutched his head, "Ow…"

"Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere…"

Axel examined the groaning boy for a while, then he said, "Well, we're gonna have to get you to the office. Can you walk?" He touched Roxas's leg. It didn't hurt, but literally _everywhere _was in pain so Roxas couldn't even bare to stand up. He shook his head. "So you want me to piggyback ride you there or carry you there Princess Style?"

"Axel, it's not naturally – wait…what?"

"Princess Style it is," Axel abruptly swooped down to cradle Roxas into his arms, drawing a half-whimper, half-yelp from the 'brunet'. Axel's deafening voice almost shattered Roxas's eardrums, "MAKE WAY! PRINCESS ROXAS COMING THROUGH!" Everyone on the staircase burst out into laughter, and the tension was released. Axel made his way down the hallway.

"Axel…" Roxas closed his eyes, "_What _are you _doing…?_"

"Um, we can't go to the office now or else our bus will leave without us, but Riku's bound to have an icepack somewhere in his bag-that-has-everything. So I'll take you to the bus and then we'll see how you're doing – what are you staring at?" Axel snapped at a nearby girl. "Who pushed you?"

"Mm…Seefer…"

"Seifer?" Axel chuckled, "Yeah, that jerkoff. He's always starting fights in the middle of nowhere. You'll be okay. It was just a light…kinda tumble anyway."

"…light…? I'm heavy…"

Axel held Roxas even closer, "No, you're not heavy. You're light as fu…uh…fudge popsicles…" Axel smiled at a nearby teacher, who glared at the redhead skeptically. "If you were heavy, you woulda broke the floor, a fall like that."

"Haha…that…would have…been…"

Axel continued to take powerful strides down the hall, ignoring the awkward stares he was getting. He felt Roxas nuzzling his chest, curling into him as he carried him. Then he realized Roxas hadn't continued his sentence, "Roxas?"

Roxas didn't answer.

Axel stole a glimpse down at the boy and was astounded to see that Roxas had fallen asleep. He stopped in his tracks, adjusting the position Roxas was lying in. He looked so…_cute _asleep. Axel just wanted to squish his cheeks. The brown hair was in the sunlight, which was beaming through the window on his left. Axel narrowed his eyes, nestling his cheek against the hair, "Looking blond again, Roxas," There was something about that, that had bothered him, but he couldn't quite figure it out. The boy's hair tickled him, and Axel murmured under his breath,

"Think you'd look really cute as a blond."

* * *

**A/N: **Hrrgh. I should fall down the stairs so that my Axel can carry me princess style. ;_; Axel is not being /slow/, I hope. The hair can totally make someone look different. :D ...Or am I just being in denial? xD Anyway, thanks for reading the chappie. Ready for interesting fact #3? ...Do I even have one?

...**Interesting Fact #3: **Last weekend I ate a spicy green pepper, and then my tongue was on fire. Then I ate a lime right after that. My tongue was, like, dead. I have never been so daring in my entire life ;D (That, and stupid). :D


	9. IX

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning: **Cross-dressing. LOL. For the lulz. And, um, Riku acting a little bit too jealous for his own good. Lots of hyperness. Once again. I'M DRAGGING IT ALONG, I KNOW. D: I swear more Akuroku and Soriku will happen from here on out, now that they've got things established. ;_;

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me; it makes me sad.

* * *

**IX**

Riku didn't say anything to Axel when he saw the redhead carrying Roxas onto the bus. For a second, he thought that it was Sora, but then he remembered that the other brunet was right in front of Axel and was coming straight towards him. Sora shrugged his shoulder, adjusting his bag,

"Can I sit here? Axel kinda needs one whole seat."

Riku's green eyes snapped up, "Yeah. Go ahead."

As Axel sat down on the seat, carefully propping Roxas's head on his arm so that the boy's little head wouldn't hit the window, he turned around and said, "I'm gonna have to bring Roxas up to his house, so don't wait up for me. I'll take a bus and go back home. What time do I have to be at your house?"

"Come whenever," Riku shrugged, "Do you even _know _which floor he lives in and what room?"

Axel nodded, "He told me before. I have it memorized," He turned to Sora, "You _did _tell him about the party, didn't you?"

Sora meekly dropped his gaze down to his shoes. Axel sighed, shaking his head with a slight grin. Riku rolled his eyes, "You gonna wear a costume?"

"I'll come as myself. That's bound to scare many kids," Axel shrugged, smiling, "I'll see what I can come up with at the last second."

"No," Riku smirked, "Come to my house early. I have an idea of what you can be. Even if you don't like it," He added as Axel opened his mouth to say something, "We're gonna force it on you anyway."

"You _have _to wear a costume?" Sora asked.

Riku laughed, "It doesn't matter. Come in a costume if you like. Axel likes to play dress up, so me and Marley are gonna do it for him this year. But I'm not gonna wear a costume, neither is Larx, but you'll probably find a few people coming that will."

"I shall come as Zorro!" Sora exclaimed as he lifted his invisible sword.

The bus jolted into a start, and throughout the whole ride, Axel continued to unconsciously stroke gently at Roxas's hair. Riku exchanged glances with Sora, who covered his smile with his hand. As Roxas's stop came, Axel wordlessly got off the bus, carrying Roxas in his arms; Riku stared after the two of them with an odd expression.

"What's wrong, Riku?"

The silver-haired male turned his gaze out the window just as the bus started to move again, "Nothing," He answered, "It's just…that's the _first_ time I've ever seen Axel do that."

* * *

Though he was pretty strong, Axel was glad that the elevator went fast. He was even more thankful for the fact that there _was _an elevator. If he was forced to take the stairs, his arms would have died. He glanced around for room nine, on the fourteenth floor. His hands were occupied, and he couldn't press the doorbell, so rolling his eyes, he knocked his head against the door.

A blond opened the door, his mouth wide open in a smile as if he were about to say someone's name, but caught himself in time. Axel cocked his head to the side, "…Demyx, right?"

The man's blue eyes widened in confusion, "Who're you?" His eyes moved down to the boy in Axel's arms and realization dawned on him, "Oh, here. Let me take him from you," He held his arms out, and Axel slowly, carefully, moved Roxas onto Demyx's arms without waking him up, "Same school?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah. He kinda fell down the stairs today. Got pushed. Next thing I know, he falls asleep in my arms. I'd put ice on his head or whatever in case he actually got a concussion."

Demyx snorted, "Aha, right. What's your name again?"

"Axel."

Demyx blinked twice, his lips forming a silent 'o'. "I'd shake your hand, Axel, but my hands are occupied," Axel couldn't help but grin. So this was the guy who found his uncle attractive. He remembered Zexion saying something about a man with the world's most…well, interesting was one way to describe his hair. But Demyx seemed like a fun guy; maybe he could actually get Zexion to get out of the house and get his nose out of a book.

"If he wakes up," Axel nodded at Roxas's sleeping form, "Tell him he's invited to my friend's party. I stuck the address in his pants pocket earlier so he should have it. You should come too," Axel had a playful twinkle in his eye. "Zexion'll be there supervising since my own mother won't trust me."

A faint pink tinged Demyx's cheeks, "Damn. Rox—Rokusasu told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he tells me everything. We're tight," Axel crossed his fingers.

_Not everything, _Demyx smiled. _You don't know who he really is._

"So dress him up in a 'ridiculous costume'. I wanna see what he's gonna wear," Axel sent Demyx a small wave before turning to leave. "Don't forget. Zexion will be there, so you better come."

Demyx watched as Axel pressed the button to the elevator and just as the redhead stepped in, he closed the door. With Roxas still sleeping in his arms, he laid the boy on the couch. He had let go too fast and the back of Roxas's head hit the armrest a little bit harder than Demyx would have liked. Roxas twisted onto his side edgily,

"Not…so rough, _Axel_…"

"AHA!" Demyx's short spaz of a laugh was cut off by his hand flying to his mouth. "What are _you _dreaming about, Roxy?" The boy's cheeks were slightly pink as well, but that may be because the air conditioning was out again. The apartment room was boiling. Demyx loosened the collar of his shirt as he stood up,

"Now…to find a costume for you…"

* * *

Roxas's eyes felt heavy. He knew he was waking up; even the dim lights in the room were starting to stir him awake. His school shirt was sticking to his skin, and he groaned wearily. Was he still at school? The last thing he remembered was being knocked down the stairs, and then he was being suspended in midair by a cloud…or that's what it felt like anyway. It hurt to open his eyes, and he rubbed them with his hands, sitting up.

He took a quick glance around the room, the smell of food reaching his nostrils. He knew where he was _now_; there was no mistaking the blood-red crimson of the couch he was lying on and the smell of eggs coming from Demyx's kitchen. He glanced up to see his blond friend coming out of the kitchen, plate of scrambled eggs in hand and he was wolfing it down pretty quick,

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

"Morning?" Roxas yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he stole a glimpse out the window, "It's still dark," He opened his mouth, and Demyx sighed, forking into the eggs and place it in Roxas's mouth. The blond chomped down on it happily, running his fingers through his fair hair. As he did so, he blinked in horror; he remembered.

"WAIT. Where's my wig? Demyx, wait, who brought me home? Where's my wig? My hair…did…wait, what?" He turned his head this way and that until he spotted the brown clump of hair. Demyx shook his head in reassurance,

"Axel brought you home, but he doesn't know anything. Don't freak out; I took off the wig so that you could sleep."

Roxas controlled his slightly hyperventilating state, "A-alright," He threw a red, fire-truck pillow at Demyx, who hurriedly dodged it, "Don't _do _that to me again. You half scared me to death," He felt something sticking into his leg and he patted down on his school pants. There was nothing there, but there was still something sharp sticking into his thigh. He winced, feeling around his pocket. Demyx swallowed before saying,

"Oh, yeah. Axel wants you to go to a party."

"Huh?" Roxas pulled the piece of paper out; it had an address on it. "A party?"

"He says to dress you up in a costume and bring you over," At those very words, Roxas shook his head sternly,

"No costumes, Demyx. I'm not going."

"Well, you should have thought of that before telling Axel that I liked his uncle," Demyx accused, and Roxas blushed, "Zexion's going, and I'm gonna go to the party because I'm invited. No buts," Demyx said, wagging a finger at Roxas in a playful manner, "You're coming with me. And I've already picked out the perfect costume for you."

He pointed at the table. Roxas took one long look at it.

"No. Hell no."

"Hell, _yes_."

* * *

Riku didn't live too far from Axel, so it didn't take long for the redhead to walk on over at around six. Flicking his lighter on and off, he strolled along the side of the sidewalk. His mind was starting to drift off, and as he reached the red light, he started to think.

_Do I like him?_

Who would know? How would _he _know? He'd never liked someone seriously. With Riku, they had broke off the relationship after the two of them realized that they would just stay as best friends. Too bad it was right after the night that they had slept together. At the very least, they were just glad that their first time was with each other.

After that, he just slept with whoever. Not like it was an every day thing, but it didn't matter to him anymore. They all knew that it was going to be a one-night stand. Whoever came up to him the next day demanding a proper relationship was immediately rejected.

But Roxas…he was…different. Somehow. It was like while others went around with his stupid jokes, Roxas was the one who saw through him and told him straight up that he was acting like an idiot when it came to liking someone.

As soon as he saw that there were no cars, he jogged across the road.

Sure, he felt affectionate towards the boy; maybe a little bit _too _affectionate. A month ago, he wouldn't have thought about this at all. What scared him _now_ was that he _didn't _know what to think.

But he had run out of time. Bringing his fist up, he rammed his hand into Riku's door. It had instantly swung open, and if Axel had been given the chance to run from seeing Riku and Marluxia's evil smirk, he would have done so,

"What are you two thinking?" His eyes shifted nervously between his friends.

The two of them exchanged sadistic grins, and Axel started to back away, "Seriously, guys, tell me what's going on or –holy shit. Please don't tell me that you're going to dress me up in _that_."

He didn't even make it to the second step of the stairs when he was dragged in by the arms.

* * *

Roxas was not amused. Not at all. Demyx had forcibly shoved him into the bathroom and had demanded him to change into his costume. Second of all, he was in no mood to cross-dress. And last of all…he was a _nurse_…wearing a _skirt_. Demyx had to endure a very long silent treatment, and all the while he was driving, he could feel Roxas's vibrant blue eyes drilling a deep hole through the back of his head. He tapped the steering wheel anxiously,

"…you look cute."

Roxas crossed his arms and legs, wearing a small frown; his wig was bothering him.

"Um…Axel will think you're cute too."

"He doesn't even like me that way," Roxas bit down on his lip, then glared outside the window; he had forgotten he wasn't supposed to be talking to Demyx. He didn't know what else to say after that anyway. He felt…disappointed. The blond smiled, his eyes turning back on the road,

"That doesn't mean he won't think you're cute. Just remember who he thinks you are though."

Roxas didn't respond.

Riku answered the doorbell and had almost fallen down in laughter when he caught sight of Roxas. There were orange and green paint streaks across his cheeks, which clashed horribly with his silver hair and blue-green eyes. He covered his mouth to hide a scoff, and Roxas snapped,

"Don't laugh."

"Who dressed _you_ up?" Riku snickered. Roxas jerked his thumb back towards Demyx, introducing him to Riku.

"What's with the face paint?" Roxas asked. Riku's smile instantly vanished.

"Sora's trying to turn me into a pumpkin."

"RIIIIIIKUUUUU! Come back here! I'm not done!"

Riku closed his eyes and started to walk in the opposite direction of Sora's voice. Roxas could tell he wasn't a big fan of getting his face vandalized. Before Riku could escape though, Roxas said,

"Where's Axel?"

Riku smirked, "Hanging around on the stairs," He left.

"On the stairs…?"

"RIKU! MARLEY! GET ME THE FUCK DOWN OR I'LL MASSACRE YOU BOTH IN YOUR SLEEP!"

Roxas saw the pink-haired boy standing in the middle of the hallway down, sneering at someone who was above him. As Demyx whispered to Roxas that he was going to find Zexion, the 'brunet' started for Marluxia. Riku's house was _enormous_; Roxas noticed as he made his way there. There were also a few guys chuckling and girls giggling, their eyes all looking in the same direction: UP.

Roxas followed their gaze.

"If you'd all just stop _staring _at my dress for _one _second and help me down, that'd be greatly appreciated. I know there's a lot to see but – hey, Roxas!"

Roxas continued to stare. Hung by puppet strings and a large mobile that was stuck, propped in-between the poles of the stair railings, Axel was dressed as a marionette doll. His hands were held up by strings and it looked like he was being crucified to the wall. Suddenly, Roxas was very content with his nurse costume. Anything was better than _that _green doll-like dress. At least it was long and poofy enough to cover most of Axel's legs. He wasn't _too _far from the ground, but Roxas wouldn't want to be hung like th at anyway.

"How'd you get up _there?_"

"It's complicated," Marluxia snickered, "We pretty much got the thing stuck in the pole first before throwing him off. Another great stunt this Halloween."

"This stunt is gonna get _you_ killed," Axel scowled. Roxas started up the stairs; it was difficult because his white pencil-skirt did not allow him to skip steps. But he managed. Axel's emerald eyes were imploring him, "Are you going to stare some more or help me down? My arms are aching and I've been here for more than an hour almost. Those people," He glowered at the people below, "Won't help me out."

"I don't even know how to get you down."

"Get scissors."

For a second, Roxas didn't know if he was being serious or not. Deciding not to say anything though, he followed Axel's directions and went into the kitchen and got a pair of scissors. As he carried them back up the stairs, a few girls were mocking him, "But Axeel, you look so hot in a dress."

"I know," Axel smirked, "But I can't _breathe _in this stupid corset thing. How do you girls _stand _this – whoa!" His right arm dropped down to his side as Roxas cut the rope. He groaned in relief, wiggling his left arm, "Cut down this one first, not the one on my back, or I'll fall and crack my skull."

"I'm scared," Roxas admitted, his hand shaking as the scissors gnawed through the rope.

Axel blinked, "Why?" His left hand dropped to his side.

"…I don't want you to fall."

Axel smiled, watching the pink flush Roxas's cheeks. Riku and Marluxia were now laughing together, "Don't break his neck, Roku~"

Axel sent his friends a menacing glare, "You will all burn in your sleep. Roxas, give me your hand," The teenagers downstairs 'ooh'd' and laughed. Roxas could feel his face burning as he took a good grip on Axel's big hand with two of his own. As Axel used his free hand to try and cut the rope on his back, Roxas stammered,

"I-I don't think I can hold you up by myself, Axel."

"Don't let go, Roxy~"

Roxas's stomach lurched as he started panicking, "Axel, I'm serious. I can't do thi—AXEL!" He cried out as he suddenly snapped forwards. His stomach hit the railing. He held tightly, but his lower abdomen was starting to feel like it was going to bruise. Out of nowhere, he felt an arm around his waist and he was now being pulled backwards, keeping him on his feet. Axel glanced up, and his eyes narrowed dangerously; Roxas had the feeling that they weren't being directed towards him though.

"You can drop me now. I can land."

True enough, Axel landed on his feet. The moment that he did, he stretched his arms a little, giving the boy behind Roxas a glare. Roxas tried to turn around, but the boy had a firm grip around his waist, "Let go of him, Riku."

"Aw, jealous, Ax?" Was it just Roxas, or did Riku have a trace of jealousy in his voice. He shivered a little as he felt the silver-haired boy's breath on his ear.

"I will be if you hold on any longer," Axel's teasing grin wavered.

"Ha, you know I'm just joking," But Riku's grip tightened, almost painfully, "It's just really funny to have a sexy nurse in my arms. That's always been one of my goals in life; to hold a sexy cross-dressing nurse," Roxas felt Riku's chin on his shoulder, and he could hear his voice in an undertone, "Don't be scared, Roku. I'm just seeing what he'll do."

Just when Roxas thought that Axel wasn't gonna do anything, he saw the redhead's facial expression change angrily, "Riku. Let _go_."

The boy stiffened in shock and slowly, he let go of Roxas. Roxas turned around a little to see Riku looking a bit, well; hurt was one way to say it. He didn't know why though. Their eyes met for a second, and then Riku dropped his gaze, "Sora!" He called, heading down the stairs with a grin on his face, "Sora, where are you?"

The other brunet ran to Sora, painting materials in hand, "You're gonna let me finish now?"

"No, you're helping me _wash _this shit off," Riku laughed, dragging Sora by the arm. He didn't look at Axel as he left the hallway. The girls sensed something wrong and immediately departed. Marluxia had also fled the scene, but the anger in Axel's eyes was gone. Roxas stayed at the top of the stairs,

"…what was that about?"

Axel shrugged, rubbing his forehead, "I don't know. I honestly don't know," Speeding up the stairs in his dress, he tackled Roxas in a hug, "Nice outfit."

"Don't," Roxas rolled his eyes, returning the hug with a light squeeze of his arms, "I look horrendous. But it was either this or I was gonna come here naked."

"The latter wouldn't have hurt. But you look cute," Axel winked as Roxas focused all his attention on the carpeted ground. Then he groaned, "I gotta get out of this," He adjusted his dress a little, "It's so gross. I'll change, and then I'll come down and meet you or something, okay?"

Roxas nodded, taking one step down, "Kay," As he took another step back, he glanced back towards Axel just as the boy was half-way through opening the door, 'And Axel?"

"Hm?"

"Don't do that again."

"Do what?"

Roxas swallowed hard, then shook his head, "I would have died if you actually fell," The words brought a smile to Axel's face,

"You like me that much?" Earnest words, but Axel couldn't get the teasing tone out of it. Roxas's softened expression instantly hardened, and he sighed,

"No. I can't stand blood."

As he disappeared around the corner, Axel shut the door. "I'm just happy that you didn't let go."

* * *

Riku had finally gotten rid of all the paint and make-up on his face with the help of Sora. A while ago, he didn't even know what he was doing, acting like that in front of everyone he knew. He didn't know what had come over him. Maybe it was because of the fact that Roxas greatly resembled Sora, and Riku just couldn't stand seeing the two guys he liked, or used to like, flirting. He was confused.

Now, as he stood in front of the door that Axel was behind, he hesitated. He just wanted to know, for sure, that he was over Axel. After all, _why _did he feel a strong surge of jealousy every time he saw Axel and Roxas together?

He knocked on the door and pushed it open, only to see a half-naked Axel jump in surprise. A white t-shirt lay crumpled on the ground, and Axel picked it up, his eyes on Riku, "Hi?"

"Hey," Riku responded coolly. He clicked the door shut. For a long moment, no one said a word, then,

"So what _was _that all about?" Axel asked, hiding any hints of spite.

Riku lifted one shoulder and lowered it, "I don't know. You tell me," At this, Axel rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"What do you mean _you don't know_?"

"Cause you're part of it too," Riku snapped. Axel blinked,

"What the hell is that supposed to me—mmfph!" Axel's protest was muffled as Riku choked off the rest of his words by closing the gap between them with his lips. His mouth was on Axel's, but there was still no spark. Almost forcefully, he shoved Axel onto the bed. Axel glared up at him as he propped himself up onto his elbows,

"Riku…" He rasped, but Riku straddled him once more and kissed him again.

"Just shut up for one second," He snarled between the bruising kiss, placing his hand on Axel's bare chest. His free hand groped him everywhere else and Axel squirmed slightly underneath him.

_Nothing…still nothing…_

Riku could feel Axel's fingers tangling themselves within his hair, but the moment Axel opened his mouth again, Riku forced his tongue to delve inside Axel's mouth. Only the sounds of the bed sheets ruffling and Riku's faint moan could be heard. _What am I doing_? Riku thought miserably.

A quick yank of his hair and Riku's head snapped back. He hissed in pain, "What the—"

"Riku," Axel growled, holding his head in place and with his other hand, he wiped his mouth, "_What _are you doing?" The moment that Riku was caught off guard, Axel flipped him over and yanked him over to the side. Riku struggled a little, but Axel's hands were pinning him down. Axel bared his teeth, glowering at his best friend until Riku stopped trying to get out. He sighed,

"...I just wanted to make sure."

"Of what?" Axel made a face.

"That we had nothing left," Axel's grip loosened and he rolled off to the side. The two of them lay on the bed, side to side,

"…So _that's _what it was all about. You just wanted to know if you had any spare feelings for me. That's it?"

Riku nodded, feeling slightly pathetic and drained, "Yeah."

"God, Riku," Axel murmured, rubbing his eyes, "You could have just… I don't even know. Damn…" He touched his lips with the tips of his fingers, "Were you jealous or something?"

"I had good reason," Riku countered, "You and Roku, or Roxas, whatever you call him, you…never acted that way towards me. I can't help but think…maybe you're actually acting serious this time and, well…you just never did that with me. Plus, Roku looks a bit like Sora, and...it was just...weird at first seeing you two together," He turned on his side; he felt a little bit better now that he was talking to Axel, "It's normal to feel a little jealous, Ax."

Axel stole a quick side glance at Riku, his lips tightening, "Yeah, I know," He blinked hard, "We're just best friends. I'm sorry, man. I kinda like him," A long silence followed, "Yeah, okay, I admit it. I like him. I like Roxas. Say something. Is this the first time I've confessed to you that I've actually liked someone?"

Riku was quiet, expecting the surge of jealous to attack him again, but he felt nothing. He smiled, "You're confessing to the wrong guy."

"Shut up, what about _you_ and Sora?"

Riku attempted to shrug while lying down on his back, but Axel knew what he meant. "He confuses me. I don't know what to make of his actions. One minute, he's warming up to me and the other, he's shying away."

"I heard he was straight," Axel said, but as Riku's eyes narrowed dangerously, he corrected himself, "But I mean, you know, he could be halfway out of the closet by now. It'll work out."

"How come he sent you a boo gram, but not me?"

Axel snickered, "Roxas put Sora's name."

They were silent, and then Riku started to smirk too, "Then maybe Sora sent me one after all and put Roku's name on it. I don't know. I'll get an answer out of him soon."

"We both will," Axel concluded. "I'll see if I can tell him tonight. If not…well, we'll see."

The two of them mulled over it for a second, and then Riku grinned, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What, a double date? Riku, you gotta stop reading my mind."

Riku sat up, "Yeah, whatever. Put on your shirt," He tossed the shirt that had been forgotten on the floor back to Axel, "We'll figure something out later. Come back down before they think we're actually sleeping with each other," And he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Roxas had the impression that Demyx was having a mighty fun time harassing Zexion, who was doing his best to read the book in front of him. He found out that Zexion was just there to supervise, and that he had not planned on coming at all. Demyx still did not relent, and was now trying to take the book out of Zexion's grasp,

"C'mon, talk to me. I'm fun to talk to."

"You're a _distraction_. And quite annoying," Zexion scowled, wrenching the book back. He swiveled the chair around so that now his back was facing him. Demyx wrapped his arms around Zexion's neck, which made the other man narrow his eyes in irritation. "Do you _ever _stop being annoying?"

"I'll stop being annoying if you tell me one thing."

Zexion instantly put down his book and cocked his head to the side, "What?"

"Last name please."

Zexion let loose some sort of snarl from the back of his throat and pushed Demyx's nearing face away. "Go _away_," He propped his book in front of him again, glaring at it, but Roxas could tell that he wasn't reading it. It was a bit weird, seeing his principal outside of school, but Zexion acted the same as ever. Demyx's fingers touched the ends of Zexion's hair, and the blue-haired man jerked away,

"Stop that."

"But it's _sooo_ soft," This caused Zexion to pull away even further, but with a slight blush on his pale cheeks. "Noo! Let me play with it some more. It'll compensate for you not telling me your last name."

"Zexion's last name?"

Roxas and Demyx snapped their heads up to see Axel and Riku walking in together. Roxas squinted at them, and Axel averted his gaze. Riku's face looked faintly guilty as well, and Roxas's suspicions suddenly arose. He looked away. Demyx's eyes sparkled, "You know it, right? You want to tell me?"

"Axel," Zexion snapped as Axel's mouth opened, "Don't you _dare _say a word."

"Or what, you'll tell my _mother_? You'll _spank_ me?" Axel smirked, "It's—"

"Axel," His uncle hissed, "Do you want me to suspend you from school?" At this, Axel laughed, which threw Zexion off.

"You can't suspend me for _that_. That's unreasonable. You'd get fired or something," Axel turned to Demyx as Zexion sulked in his chair, "It's not that bad, but it's only funny because his first name's Zexion. So for attendance, when he was younger, the teacher would call out: _Getchur, _Zexion."

Demyx blinked, "Huh?"

"Say it fast."

"Getyourzexion," Demyx's jaw dropped, then he started laughing, "Get your sexy on! Hahaha! I get it, I get it!" Zexion looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there forever. Demyx nudged him, "That's funny! Get your sexy on, Zexion!"

"Please shut up."

"Get your sexy on, Zexion!" Another burst of laughter and even Roxas smiled. He wasn't going to forget that for a long time. Zexion had probably been made fun lots of times because of that. Roxas couldn't blame him for changing his last name.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel waved at him, and Roxas stood up, "Come here for a second," He walked as best he could in his skirt, following the redhead down the hallway. He could still hear Demyx,

"Get your sexy on, Zexion!"

"Where are you taking me?" Roxas asked, now extremely curious. Axel shrugged, looking back once before continuing his walk. Roxas tripped over his socks, trying to catch up, "Axel, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it's kinda hard to walk in a skir—" He was cut off when he was suddenly yanked into the bathroom.

The door shut behind him. Roxas pressed his back against the wall, feeling small as he scrolled his eyes up to Axel's bright green eyes. "Um…" They were too close to each other.

"How's your head?"

Axel rested his hand on top of Roxas's head, "It's fine. Thanks for…whatever you did."

"Just carried you up. S'no big deal."

Roxas nodded, "So then…we are in the bathroom, why?"

"It's so crowded outside."

"And it's better here?" Roxas shifted a little; the way he was standing was making his leg cramp up. With his foot falling asleep, he nearly fell over but Axel caught him by the hand. For a moment, they held that stance but then Roxas wriggled his fingers a little bit, and Axel let go. "So what's up? You need to talk to me?"

Axel stared at him, wondering how to start. _I kinda like you. You have really—_

"Nice shoes, wanna fuck?"

_Ha…I meant eyes, but sure, that works for now. _

Roxas stared at him as if he had gone insane, "What?" Axel shrugged, pulling off a look that clearly meant: I dunno. It was just something random. He had no idea how to say this. It was a lot harder than it looked, because Axel thought he could just get away with it just by saying three simple words. But with Roxas's sapphire eyes piercing him for a straight sentence, he lost all sense of, well, sense.

"I…" _Really like you, _"Well, I don't know how to say this, but…" _I really like you, _"It's kinda complicated," _Cause I really like you and I've never felt this way before. _

_Help._

"What's complicated?" Roxas persisted. He could tell this was something important. Axel knew it was too. Just…how was he going to say it? Roxas noticed Axel's discomfort, and he sighed, shaking his head, "Tell me later then. You obviously don't feel comfortable in confiding in me."

_No…that's not it, _Axel pleaded with his eyes. It took so much for the redhead to resist himself from attacking Roxas and pinning him down on the bathroom sink and doing him right there. _Why are you so damn cute?_

Axel couldn't say it. It was repeating over and over in his head, but he couldn't say it. Instead, he said, "Me and Riku were wondering if you wanted to come…with us tomorrow. With Sora. Like a date…but not really," Axel hurriedly said when Roxas suddenly looked interested. Now he wished he hadn't said the last few words.

"Tomorrow? What time?"

"Eleven?"

"Okay," Roxas smiled, then he glanced down at the watch on his wrist, "Ah, I'm gonna go back home now. I'm kinda tired and…I have to get Demyx off Zexion before he ends up raping him," Roxas brushed past Axel and opened the door, taking one last glance at his friend.

"W-wait, but you just _came_!"

"I'm tired," Roxas repeated, and he pointed down at his costume, "And I'm stuck in this stupid thing. I'll see you tomorrow." Axel didn't say anything; he was a bit shocked that he still couldn't get the words out. It was as if they were stuck in his throat.

"Kay," His throat felt dry.

"Bye, Axel," Just as he started to turn, Axel grabbed onto his arm, a half whispered 'wait' on his lips. Roxas paused, his eyes gazing back at Axel. His eyes widened when Axel's lithe fingers brushed past his cheeks and caught a strand of his hair. Roxas gulped,

"Axel…?"

Blushing a light shade of pink would have been an understatement for Roxas when he saw Axel leaning in towards him. The redhead's grip on his arm tightened, and Roxas blinked rapidly. Those lips…so close…

Axel smirked, "Bye," Roxas's shoulders fell, but he said nothing of it. Fine. If Axel was going to tease him like this, _**fine**_. He huffily stomped away, but right before he disappeared around the corner, Axel started again,

"Wait, Roxas!" The blond stopped and glowered at Axel with doubt. Axel opened his mouth and thought for two seconds. Then he wiggled his eyebrows, making obvious head nods towards Roxas's costume, "See you tomorrow, cutie. I'll tell you what I wanted to tell you next time. I promise."

Roxas rolled his eyes. As soon as the blond was far from ears reach, Axel whispered just a little bit too late,

"Because I think I might be in love with you."

* * *

**His Last Walk: **Aha. C'mon, Axel, you can do it. You've got a horde of fangirls behind you wanting you to freaking confess already. Yeah, I must make it happen. Dx It will...soon. **IT WILL. I PROMISE. **Draaaaag. Anyway, thank you for reading. I shall make this AN short and brief.

Ahem. THERE, SEE? I UPDATED QUICK. Now, wait a bit before the next chapter because even though my friends call me a writing machine, I have complications sometimes. Thanks for reading though~ -hugs-


	10. X

**Summary:**All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning: **Riku and Axel are both kinda scary sometimes. Sexual Innuendos. Those who don't get...I will be very sad. Hmh. I think I should change the rating to... M. Just in case. Uherghasmsj. Okay.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. Neither do the following songs.  
**Issues: **Mindless Self Indulgence  
**Rocketship to the Moon: **Dot Dot Curve :)  
**The secret 'between the sheets': **A heartwell ending

* * *

**X**

Demyx had actually managed to dress Roxas properly for his 'date'. When Roxas thought he was going to be clad in something black, tight, and leathery, he was surprised to be handed a fitted t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans; something plain and simple. Exactly what Roxas loved. Though it was rather sunny, it was still cold, Demyx forced him to wear a sweater.

However, he was still fuming over what had happened yesterday.

"IT'S LIKE HE'S PLAYING WITH MY FEELINGS!"

Roxas threw the pillow across the room and Demyx, who was clearly still amused over Zexion's real last name, just sat on the couch and watched him rant. "I don't know what he's trying to do to me. It's hurting my head. Either he likes me, or he doesn't like me – I WISH HE'D JUST SPIT IT OUT ALREADY! ARGH!" He slumped down on the couch, completely worn out. And it was Saturday morning as well.

"Don't work yourself over it," Demyx grinned, propping his elbow on the armrest, "Maybe he just doesn't know how to tell you. I'm pretty good at reading people, you know."

"Doesn't seem like it," Roxas pouted. Demyx shook his head, laughing,

"Just go already, before you're late for your date. Stay out as long as you want, Rox-as."

"It's not a date!" Roxas shouted back as he slammed the door. _As much as I want it to be…it's not a date. Not if the feelings are mutual. Sure, he said it yesterday, but it was just a slip-up. It's not a date, it's not a date. _All the while along the way, he was trying to convince himself that it wasn't.

However, that didn't change the fact that Roxas was slowly, but surely, falling for Axel. He couldn't stop it anymore. The feelings were practically building themselves up, and now they were out of control. Roxas didn't care what Demyx said anymore; he couldn't _stop _this.

When he reached the designated café (it was a small place, but it looked comfy from the outside). From the window, he could already spot Axel's crimson hair and he could already feel his heart lifting abnormally. He pressed himself against the wall and muttered to himself,

"Calm down, Roxas. It's just Axel…_just Axel_… You don't like hi – I mean, he doesn't like you. I like him? Oh, f—what am I _doing_?"

He took a deep breath and walked in, ignoring the stares he was getting, "Okay, okay, okay. Just go in there, act normal and…oh, god, he's looking…**Roxas. **Stay _focused_. Is it normal to feel this nervous? I'm shaking—Hi, Axel, Riku, Sora."

"I'm so glad you could make it, Roku," Sora beamed, standing up to greet him. Roxas noticed that there was a slight problem by the way they were sitting. _Sora _was sitting beside _Axel, _which meant the only spot left for him was beside _Riku. _The scenario looked a lot better in his head; Riku didn't look exactly happy either, but he was doing a pretty good job at hiding it.

"Hi," Roxas smiled, seating himself down beside Riku.

"Were you talking to yourself?" Axel asked, his green eyes on Roxas as his pale lips curled. The boy blushed,

"N-no…" Axel smirked and glanced out the window. Roxas's thoughts commenced: _He looks so good in black…and his eyes…and his hair in the sun… Roxas! Stop staring! _None of them spoke for a long while.

"Uh…what were you talking about before I came?" Roxas asked with a desperate air; he didn't want things to get awkward just because he was here now.

"Baseball," Sora piped up, and Axel and Riku exchanged bewildered looks, "Well, I don't know! You two were going on about first base and third base and stuff so I automatically assume that you're talking about baseball…" Sora's eyes widened in confusion as the two older boys started laughing. Roxas shrugged; he didn't get it either.

Axel snickered, "Oh, yeah. _Definitely _baseball."

"Well, they were talking about positions," Riku and Axel burst out into laughter again, and Sora quickly covered up his mistake, "No, no! I mean pitches. Same thing, guys. And then I asked them why there were so many positions in baseball, and then they wouldn't stop laughing…and then you came in," Sora had to speak louder in order to talk over their laughter.

Riku was clutching his stomach, and as he straightened up, he glanced at Roxas, "What do you think, Roku?"

"Huh? Why there are so many positions?"

Axel clasped his hand onto his mouth, but Roxas could tell that he was holding in his laughter. He raised an eyebrow, but the two of them remained silent to hear his answer. Roxas didn't know what to say; he had never played baseball in his life, "Um…because…people get bored and they want to try different positions?" He wrinkled his nose just as Axel snorted, but he continued anyway, "Or… the person's already good at it and they want to get better at…a…different position…?" Roxas's voice faltered.

"You got that right," Axel high-fived Riku.

Roxas pouted, "I don't get it."

The way Axel looked at him then made Roxas want to hide behind the menu, "Poor little _innocent _mind."

"EXPLAIN!" Sora exclaimed. Riku and Axel exchanged sneaky looks; a sly smirk was beginning to crawl on Riku's face,

"I don't think we should…"

"C'mon, please?" Sora begged. Roxas nodded his head, giving Axel a reproachful stare. The redhead only stuck his tongue out, making Roxas's heart do strange somersaults. Riku shook his head,

"They're only innuendos. I can't explain 'em."

"Don't," Axel sniggered, "They'll realize soon enough," The tone in his voice sent shivers up Roxas's spine. Deciding quickly that he should change the subject, he rested his gaze back on Roxas, "So you live with your friend, huh?"

"Demyx, yeah."

Axel hummed, "Mm, nice place?"

Roxas nodded, glad they were done talking about _innuendos_, whatever those were, "Yeah, it's pretty nice. …I guess. It's kinda hot sometimes though because the AC would be out. And sometimes the pipes leak and Demyx would try and fix it. But then the one he bought himself would be too long, right? So he'd get another one and then he'd have to do all this complicated stuff and he'd have to lubricate it to get it to fit into the other—"

"_HAHAHAHA_!" Riku banged his head on the table and Axel had to press his forehead against the wall to keep from looking at Roxas. "Holy _shit_," Riku gasped, trying to breathe.

"Ow…ow…my stomach," Axel whimpered. Roxas narrowed his eyes; he had a feeling that he knew what was going on now, but for the sake of Sora's innocence, he decided not to explain to him,

"Got any plans for tonight?"

Sora tried to pay attention to Roxas, "Umm… not tonight. But tomorrow I gotta go to the music store and get a book."

Roxas tried to ignore Axel's chuckles, "On what?"

"Fingering positions."

Even if that wasn't intended to be heard dirty, the three of them caught it. A long silence followed, then Roxas smiled. Axel and Riku looked like they were about to die on top of the table. Even the people beside were starting to send them warning glares.

"...I meant finger positioning...for clarinets…" Sora now sounded uncertain, like he was scared to say anything else. He did a sudden twitch and Roxas gave him a questioning stare. He felt around his pants for his cell phone, "Ah, sorry. It was vibrating."

"_What _was vibrating?" Riku smirked.

"Oh, _god, _please stop talking, Sora. I'm _begging _you!" Axel rested his head in his arms, his shoulders shaking, "I can't _breathe…_"

"SHH!" A waitress walked by and put a finger on her lips. She whispered sternly; it was mostly directed to Axel, who was making the most racket, "You are disturbing the other customers."

"Sorry," Roxas apologized for his friend, seeing as the redhead couldn't even get one word out of his mouth. As soon as he quieted down a little, with a few hiccups, he managed to gulp down some water. After that, he was calm…er. But now…there was nothing to talk about. The two elders had planned this date in order to have an opportunity to confess, but now, it seemed like there wasn't a right time to do it.

It was too public. This _wasn't _working!

Axel suddenly felt someone's foot brushing against his. His eyes widened and instantly found Roxas, who was gazing dreamily at the other side of the café. Axel's smile broadened: _Is Roxas playing footsies with me?_

Axel gave the foot a little nudge and was delighted to receive one back. He hid his smile behind his hand. But as he shifted his leg a little to get on top, the other foot moved up as well. Bewildered, he tried pushing the other's foot with his own, only to be roughly pushed back.

Roxas was now drinking out of his cup and Axel now doubted that this person's foot belonged to Roxas. He glanced under the table.

As did Riku.

"FAIL!"

"Yeah, okay, excuuuse me—"

"Riku, I have to talk to you," Axel stood up and shuffled over Sora's lap, "Excuse me, sorry…" Roxas moved back as Riku bustled out as well. Axel grabbed Riku's arm and hissed, "And you wonder _why _we didn't last. Riku, I'm _always _on top!"

"I thought you were Sora!"

"Well, I thought _you _were Rox—" The two froze, as they realized they had an audience once again. Roxas and Sora both had identical mystified faces, "Washroom," Axel mumbled, yanking Riku along.

"Together?" Roxas squinted at them.

"Mhm," As Axel dragged Riku to the washroom, he could already feel Roxas and Sora's eyes boring into his back. He closed the washroom door and whirled on Riku, "This is _not _working," He hissed.

"I know, I know," Riku pushed his hair out of his eyes, "What do you suggest?"

"Somewhere more _private?_" Axel immediately said, "Let's go to your house. Now."

"Can't. Marley's there," At Axel's questioning look, he added, "Larx had another row with him. He's cooling it off with my PS3 and my war games, and he brought a few of his other friends along. It was either that or he was going to write emo poems with all these flowery shit."

"Seriously? That's their, like, tenth on-and-off thing this year."

Riku nodded, thinking about it for a bit, "Well, I guess we could go to my place. It's not like he'll bother us anyway."

"It's more secluded there," Axel agreed, "And plus, you have lots of rooms upstairs. I'm sure we can find a place to be alone with them."

Riku's face split into a small smile, "We sure can."

* * *

"You're coming to my house," Riku and Axel stood by the table, demanding expressions on their faces, "Now."

"Huh?" Sora's big blue eyes looked up at Riku. Roxas just scratched his head.

"Why?" Axel shoved his hands into his pockets, "Ya got somewhere to go tonight?" His eyes were so intently focused on Roxas that the boy found it hard not to look away. He could feel his ears burning from embarrassment.

"N-no, but…"

"Alright, so let's _go,_" The two boys dragged the others and practically hauled them inside Axel's car. It wasn't a very flashy car, but the fact that he even _had _a car was good enough. The only problem was that Axel chose Roxas to sit beside him while he was driving; it seemed a lot safer than having Demyx drive, but…

The music…

_Oh my god, it's like when they see me, all they see is my freakish hair, and my freakish lip rings and they're like 'what the fuck, kid?' You're a fucking freak~  
_

Axel bobbed his head to the beat of the music, singing along. Riku seemed used to it already; he was sitting beside Sora behind them. Roxas grasped nervously at the seatbelt as Axel continued to sing,

"Axel," Roxas called out, "Exactly what kind of songs do you listen to?" He vaguely remembered the lyrics he had shot him with on the first day of school. He skipped to the next song.

"Awesome ones," Axel shot back, "They're like sex. You should try listening to them," Roxas clicked around, only to hear songs of similar type.

_Oooh~ I want a lot of profanity…with a lot of lost virginity. It's a boy's intuition with a right explanation…_

Skip. A steady drum beat played at the beginning and Roxas's eyes widened, "Hey, this is different." He stopped at this song for a while.

_So this is how it feels to feel for that last time. So maybe not, so maybe not like the first time. So much like that one time, you know that one time, I made you scream my name..._

"Wait a second. Is this about...?"

"It's called The Secret _'between the sheets'_," Axel smirked.

In the end, Roxas decided to just stop trying to change the song and endured the rest of the car ride listening to songs about sex. Literally.

When they finally reached Riku's house, Roxas instantly turned off the music and darted out, vowing that he would never let Axel choose what they were to listen to ever again. As they stepped in, Roxas was shocked to see half the Halloween decorations still on the ground, and there were shouts from the living room. Roxas guessed that that was where Marluxia and his friends were.

"So you wanna go upstairs or…"

"I wanna see what they're playing," Sora rushed into the living room. Roxas already had suspicions of what Axel and Riku were trying to do, and it amused him to see them trying this hard to get them alone. _Wait, _Roxas thought as he followed Sora into the living room, _does this mean…he likes me?_

The thought made him grin foolishly.

Roxas plopped himself down on one of the couches in Riku's living room. Marluxia was playing a game, but it looked like he was hardly into it. He wondered what he and Larxene were fighting about. Hopefully nothing big. Roxas would feel incredibly sorry for whoever Larxene decided to date next. It seemed as if Marluxia was the only one who could tolerate her.

He felt an arm creeping around his shoulder and he flinched away, "Hey," Axel smirked, seating himself down. Roxas tensed a little; was it just him or was Axel a _little_ too close for comfort? The redhead's lean body was practically pushed up against his. Roxas didn't know what to do.

"Ew, Marley, you brought this shit with you?" Axel held up one of the fashion magazines. All he got in return was a deadly glare as Marluxia averted his attention from the screen for one second. Axel shrugged, flipping through it, "Ugh, Roxas DeRenzis…again."

"Eh?" Roxas squeaked, shuffling a little bit away from Axel, but the boy's arm was firmly around Roxas's shoulder.

"Yeah, look," Axel held the magazine picture so close to Roxas's face that the picture itself was starting to look like a blur. Roxas blinked, only to see Axel's face nearing his. _Oh, no, he's comparing! Must…RUN!_

Roxas grabbed a pillow from the side and pushed it in front of Axel's face, rolling out from underneath Axel. He crawled a bit before standing on his two feet. Turning around, he saw Axel's annoyed face, "Aha…right…sorry about that. Reflexes?" He laughed nervously, running his hand through his wig. Axel rolled his eyes, standing up with the magazine in hand.

Roxas glanced around desperately for Sora, but it seemed that the other brunet was doing his best to keep from getting shot in the game. "Riku, where's your kitchen again?"

"There," Riku pointed in a vague direction and Roxas hurriedly flitted out of the room.

_I need water, I need water…_ Roxas sloppily poured himself a glass. His hand was shaking badly, and he didn't know why. It wasn't that he was scared. Just a little shocked by the way Axel was acting. He gulped the water down,

"What are you doing?"

Roxas coughed, choking on the water. He wiped his mouth with the sweater sleeve as he turned around, "You scared me!" He accused, still coughing a bit. He turned around to place the glass cup in the sink when suddenly, he felt two arms wrapping themselves around his middle. Roxas stood rigidly, eyes growing round, "Wh-what…"

"Are you avoiding me?"

Roxas's grip on the counter tightened, but he was abruptly forced around to face Axel. The redhead was just about leaning over him, a half-exasperated look on his face. Roxas could feel the counter edge digging into his back, and he glanced away, "No…I'm not." _Their hips were __**touching**__…_

"Then what are you doing?" Axel's hand brushed against Roxas's cheek and tilted his head slightly so that their eyes would meet. Roxas's breath hitched in his throat. _So this is what he's planning to do. He's too close… Roxas, you have to listen to Demyx. Listen to Demyx. You can't like him, not when he thinks you're…not Roxas._

"Mmmnyahh, I'm just…uh…exploring the house a bit," Roxas ducked down and hastily evaded around Axel's arms once more. How he managed to escape out of _that_, he had no idea, "I think I'll go play a game too!" And he ran out of the kitchen, leaving Axel slightly miffed.

"Having trouble too?" Riku strode in to see Axel pouring himself a glass of water. Axel growled under his breath, inclining his head,

"Does it _look _like I'm going anywhere?" He rolled his eyes, "Every time I try to make a move on him, he runs away. Like when I tried to kiss him a moment on the couch, you know what he did?"

"Shove a pillow in your face?"

"Damn, you're good."

"Nah, I just saw. Pretty hilarious, if you ask me," Riku smirked as Axel scowled, draining the last of his drink. Combing his vermilion hair out with his long fingers, he sighed,

"Riku, I am _sexually _frustrated right about now, but not being able to tell Roxas that I'm kinda in love with him, it's making me even more mad and—"

"Wait, what did you say?" Riku asked, arching an eyebrow. "You _love _him?"

Axel snapped his fingers impatiently, "Back on topic, jackass. You got any rope around here? I gotta tie him up before he escapes me again. The guy's like a little mouse and I'm the cat about to eat him or something," Axel's voice faltered when he saw Riku pull out a long, cord of rope from under the kitchen counter. His jaw dropped, "What the hell are you _doing _with _that_?! Were you actually planning to tie someone up?!"

"We tied you up yesterday," Riku explained, "I just kinda shoved it in there. You need it, I have it," He tossed it to Axel, who still looked a bit shocked. "Don't tell me you're chickening out now. And to think you're gonna be going to college next year like the _big boy _you are."

At this, Axel frowned, "Shut up. I'm _not_ chickening out," He took hold of the rope in his two hands, looking a little unsettled. "But don't you think this is a little extreme?"

Riku laughed, pushing his hair out of his eyes, "Oh well, we're teenagers. We're bound to do something reckless _some _time in our life. It's not like we're gonna rape them or anything."

Axel smiled, and Riku continued,

"You know this house like the back of your hand. I'm blacking the house for a few seconds. You've got that much time to run upstairs with Roku, unless you want the guys out there to actually know what you're about to do."

"What _am _I about to do?" Axel smirked, now feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Riku just scoffed,

"Like I said. Ya got a few seconds to get upstairs."

"What about you and Sora?"

Riku fingered the light switch by the wall with a look of distracted absence. "You said so yourself that there are lots of rooms upstairs. And I thought _you _were the one who thought things out properly. You gonna do this or what?"

Axel just grinned.

* * *

"What do you think they're up to?" Sora asked as soon as he was done one round. One of Marluxia's friends had stolen the controller away from him, and Roxas never got the chance to play (not that he wanted to in the first place). Roxas shrugged,

"Who knows? I think we should go now though," Roxas said. _Because I don't think my raging teenage hormones can take any more of this. One more attack from Axel and I might actually fall for it. _

"Okay, let's go," Sora got up and stretched his arms.

At that moment, the lights went out. Marluxia's friends automatically whooped and Roxas heard one of them roar, "BLACK OUT!!" And then many of them laughed afterwards, "Damn it! I didn't save the game!"

Roxas felt his legs suddenly yanked but it was just someone tripping over him. "Oof!" He recognized the voice as Sora's. Just as he stood up to help the brunet up, he felt someone tugging on the back of his sweater. Next thing he knew, he was being hauled up over said person's shoulders.

"Hey, put me down!" Considering how high he was being lifted up, he imagined that the person was incredibly tall. Then again, just about everyone was taller than him. He wriggled, "Who is this anyway? PUT ME DOWN!"

"Heeeey, who is this?" That was Sora. By the way he yelped afterwards, it seemed as if he was being carried off as well. As the person started running, Roxas tried to kick his feet but the guy's arms were so tightly hooked around them that it was near impossible for him to struggle.

"What are you _doing_?! Who is this?!" Roxas heard a low snicker, something that he had heard way too many times in the past two months, "AXEL! PUT ME DOWN! Why are you carrying me like this?! You're crushing my legs! I'm gonna become a cripple!"

A soft squeal of the door told Roxas that he was now inside another room, and another barely audible click meant that the door was locked. He was dropped gently to the floor. Everywhere was dark; if he wanted to escape, he wouldn't know where to crawl. _This is like some weird shoot in a horror film… _The very thought sent goose bumps up and down his arms, and he started to tremble a little when he heard something wooden being dragged across the floor.

He was suddenly lifted up once more and hoisted up onto a chair. He was a bit confused at first, but the moment he felt the scratchy rope (yes…rope…) being yanked around his arms, he started to twist frantically, "Axel! This isn't funny! What kind of joke are you trying to pull? Ow…" He wiggled his fingers a little, but already he could sense them losing feeling.

"Stay _still, _and it won't hurt. No more running away, Roxas."

"Who says I was running?" Roxas shot back. He blinked as a light came from the corner behind him; now there was enough light for him to see the outlines of everything in the room. There was…the door, and a bedside table, which meant there was probably a bed beside it. And then there was Axel's hair, attached the Axel's head, attached to the rest of Axel's body. Roxas sighed, "…What exactly are you doing?"

"Oh, don't be scared, _Roxas_. This is only to make sure you don't run away from me again," Even though the words were kinda scary, Roxas couldn't help that Axel was just joking around again.

So he just stared; clearly, Roxas was not amused. Why was he strapped onto a chair in the first place? Sure, he was avoiding Axel a little, but that was for a reason that he could not explain properly. Roxas felt Axel's spiky hair tickling the side of his face as he leaned in towards him,

"_Thinking about something_?"

Even if Roxas wanted to jerk his head away, he couldn't. Axel was now standing behind him, playing with the strings of his sweater. He could already feel himself turning a bit red. "Um…" The slight touch of Axel's knuckles grazing the soft underside of his chin made him shrink away.

_Axel's hot breath…right next to his ear…_

"What…do you want?" Roxas managed to say, even with Axel breathing down his neck and reaching around to embrace him around the chest. He couldn't help but to relate this to him being a kidnap victim, and Axel being the dangerous murderer/kidnapper. A low chuckle sent Roxas's head spinning and his face flushing even more furiously.

"You," Axel whispered, "Just you."

* * *

**His Last Walk~ **Now I just gotta decide what to do in the next chapter. .__. Ugh. Yeah, I always do this. Leave a cliffhanger of some sort. Always, always. It's a bad habit of mine. Hmmh, Akuroku first, then SoRiku, I thinks. Wouldn't it be too early for a lime of some sort? D: Or a lemon, since...clearly, I cannot tell the difference between the two because I'm dumb like that -insert cool face-

SO I NOTICED...that I didn't say thank you when it reached 100 reviews. D: And I bet by this chapter, it's gonna reach two hundred, so, umm... **THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for reading and reviewing everyone. **You make me so happy. :D I love you. ;_;

Thanks for reading the chapter ~ See you in the next update ! (which I have yet to start writing...)


	11. XI

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning: **Uh. Intense make out scene with Axel and Roxas, kinda? Yeah, that's about it. xD Oh, yeah. And if sexually frustrated Axel had not kidnapped Roxas, he would have ended up--and I quote from Sinful Zee (I love you, by the way)-- "dryhumping chairs...then a wall...then a desk...then people..."

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku; SoRiku, Zemyx side pairings

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. LOL. CAUSE THEN THE GAME WOULD BE RATED M. Probably. :D

**His Last Walk says: **Thanks to Sinful Zee, Tsukia13, RabuLove, and Earthly Evil for helping me get over my writer's block. You might not know, but you really did help. So thanks.

And no. Axel does not find out anything, not until the end, because that is how my plot goes. Unless you want the story to be short, then I can make him find out soon but I wanna make the story long, therefore~ Yeah. ;D Just so everyone knows. You can relax a little... Oh, yeah, I'd also like you to know that I like to abuse the use of ellipsis... They come in great groups of threes. 8) dotdotdot.

**

* * *

**

**XI**

_Me? _

The word echoed over and over again in Roxas's empty mind; he was just staring blankly at the taller. Axel looked rather pleased with himself, and after a few seconds, Roxas recovered. He started, baffled, "…What the fuck?"

Axel just smirked, which infuriated Roxas a little. He tried, with little success, to struggle again, "What are you, a terrorist? Why am I tied up?" He stopped moving all together when Axel started to pace here and there.

"Yeah, so I'm a terrorist," He clasped his hands behind his back and stood up straight. He pulled off a thick, heavy accent of some sort. Roxas guessed either German or Russian, but he wasn't too sure, "Sooo, are you going to give me a straight answer or not?"

Roxas pushed his tongue to the side of his mouth. Axel was probably joking again. This was all some sort of sick joke. Tying him up and trying to get _what _answer out of him? All he did was drag him into a confined room upstairs in Riku's house and told him that he _wanted _him.

_I just wanted to be normal, _Roxas thought distressfully. _WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? THIS. IS. NOT. NORMAL. At all!_

Roxas tried clicking the pieces of the puzzle together. Axel continued to stare with those wicked green eyes of his. Roxas couldn't think straight,

"Are you gonna rape me?"

Axel jolted to a stop, "What the—" He groaned, and Roxas kept his eyes on Axel as the redhead started walking behind him. "Are you really that dense? Can you _not _see what I'm trying to do?"

"You have me tied up in a chair…" Roxas nervously shifted as he felt Axel's hand on the nape of his neck, "Should I scream rape?"

"Go ahead. No one's gonna hear you."

"Jerk," Roxas ducked his head and Axel removed his hand. He knew Axel wasn't going to do anything, but for the sake of interest, he decided to play along, "This is sexual harassment, you know. You're taking advantage of my smallness."

Roxas heard Axel scoff, and he felt his warm hand ruffling his hair, "The sexual harassment hasn't even _started_ yet," Roxas felt Axel's fingers playing with the end of his sweater and his stomach turned in a pleasant sort of way. "So you gonna hear me out?" The tips of his fingers slid underneath Roxas's sweater, and the 'brunet' was a bit shocked that he wasn't feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable.

"When…you're touching me like this?" Roxas shot back testily.

Axel snickered, "I'm hooorny. Sue me. This is just me being me. You've been running away from me for the past ten minutes and if you kept that up, I would have ended up dry-humping a chair or something."

"Ah, you couldn't keep it in your pants for ten minutes?" Roxas scowled, "Is that what I'm here for? To satisfy your sexual frustration, because frankly, Axel, I'm not interest…" _Yes, you are, _"…ed…" Axel's hand slipped up underneath his sweater, and Roxas's breath hitched in his throat. He allowed a small tremor to run through his body.

"Roxas, I'm telling you right now you're what I want."

The room's temperature rose, but Axel's hand did not stop traveling up. It was almost up to Roxas's neck, and the boy was finding it a hard time talking, "I-Is that temporary?" _Please don't say yes, please don't say yes, please don't say yes…_

"Roxas, you're so cute."

"You completely avoided the question," Roxas wriggled his fingers, but he could feel pins and needles sticking into his arms. He could just imagine his fingers turning blue, "Axel, can you untie me? I can't feel my arms."

Roxas felt something wet against his neck, and it took him two seconds to realize that it was Axel's lips. Angling his neck to get away wasn't a good idea; it only made the access easier. Axel mumbled against his throat, "No…you're gonna run away…again. It's tiring chasing after you," Roxas heard Axel say something under his breath, something that sounded suspiciously like: _but I'd do it anyway._

"I won't."

"Ha, well, since I have you tied up here, at least let me finish groping you a bit," Roxas felt Axel's arms hugging him tightly around the middle, and Roxas took a sharp intake of breath,

"Axel…"

The redhead's shoulders sagged a little, defeated, "Alright."

The minute he felt the ropes slacking, he actually had thoughts of darting out the door. Axel had stopped touching him, but Roxas doubted that he had given up, and he was glad that he didn't. _Maybe this won't turn out to be a one time thing. Maybe…he really does like me… but… _

The moment Roxas stood up from the chair, Axel's hand grappled onto his wrist. If Roxas could put the words into Axel's mouth to match the look in his eyes, they would have been: _Don't leave me._ Axel's hand dropped to his side, letting go of Roxas,

"I mean I wasn't gonna keep you tied up forever," Axel shrugged helplessly, "It was the only way to get your attention, so I thought I'd do it," There was a pause, then, "It was Riku's idea. I swear." He slumped down against the side of the bed, his eyes up on Roxas's face. The room was dark, but Roxas could make out the shape of Axel's lips. "Okay, well, I said something about rope but that was it."

Roxas laughed, much to Axel's surprise. "I'm not mad."

"But you don't like me."

Roxas stopped laughing. _Why would you think that? _Roxas gulped, trying to rid the huge lump in his throat. _The only reason this hurts so much is because you don't know who I am. You hate me. You hate me with a passion yet you're falling for the person you think I am. I can't…do this…but I want you for my own selfish needs. God, Axel, I **want** you._ "Don't say that."

"That you don't like me?"

"Don't say that," Roxas repeated. "Because I never said that."

They blinked stupidly at each other, and then Axel patted on the ground next to him. Roxas hesitated. This was it. Sit beside him, and he would be accepting the fact that maybe they _will _have a chance together. But walking out that door and not looking back, then maybe Axel will forget about him, and Roxas wouldn't feel guilty for tricking him. _Oh, god…why couldn't someone just **pull** him out **now**?_

Roxas's foot inched towards Axel, and the redhead smiled. _I guess that's it._

He crossed his legs as he sat beside Axel. The two of them stared at the crack of light underneath the door, and Roxas, wanting something to say, muttered, "You're a failure."

"Yeah, kidnapping's never been my thing."

Roxas grinned, "And Riku?"

"…Poor Sora," Axel's white teeth gleamed in the darkness, "Don't worry about him. Riku'll take good care of him." Axel nudged Roxas's shoulder, "So where were we?"

Roxas's tongue felt heavy. Something inside him told him that he should tell Axel that he liked him too, but there was that…_problem_ of Axel not knowing who he really was. It would ruin everything. _Just work it around the conversation. _Roxas propped his knees up and wrapped his arms around his legs. Resting his chin on his knees, he opened his mouth to say something, but Axel beat him to it,

"Let me rephrase that. What _are _we?"

Roxas thought about it, "Good friends?" He sighed, "We've only known each other for two months and maybe a bit."

"Apparently, that's long enough for someone to plant themselves in my mind," Axel's hand shifted a little on the ground so that his fingers were touching Roxas's. "Everything's so fucked up right now. I can't think straight, and when I try to make sense of it, my mind's just more of a mess."

"Why?"

"'Cause of you," Through the dim light of the room, Roxas could see barely Axel's cheeks reddening. He groaned in frustration, "I caaan't stop thinking about you. It's so strange. Like, every time I try not to, it just makes it worse. It's beginning to be a problem," Axel breathed hard through his nose, "But it's one of those problems I never want to go away."

_Aww, Axel's being a cheeseball. _Roxas bit down on his bottom lip. "So you like me, huh?"

"I've fallen for you pretty damn hard."

"Since when?"

Axel chuckled under his breath, "Hm, let me think," His eyes cast skyward and Roxas waited, "I think you caught my attention on the first day of school, September 2nd, 8:13 AM. You walked straight into a locker."

"You remember the time?" Roxas gaped at him, mouth open. Even _he _had forgotten it.

"I remember everything that has to do with you." Roxas blushed. Axel leaned back against the bed, "Which is weird, because I don't remember anything else or I don't want to. Selective memory is good sometimes," Axel grasped Roxas's hand and he leaned in, brushing his lips against Roxas's cheek. Then he added in a casual tone, "So, yeah, I think I love you."

"I learn something new everyday," As Axel nodded happily against Roxas's cheek, the younger moved away a little, "But I mean…what do you like about me?" _I just want to know…_

"I like a lot of things about you."

_…if he likes me for being me…_

"Like?" Roxas persisted.

"You really want me to name them all?" Axel's fingers reached for Roxas's hair, and in a sudden second of alarm, Roxas grabbed his hand and pulled it down. Instead of being affronted, Axel retaliated and brought Roxas's hand to his lips, kissing them, "For one, your hands are nice."

Roxas could feel his face burning, but Axel wasn't done yet. The redhead touched the corner of Roxas's eyes, "Your eyes…" He kissed the skin there, causing Roxas to squeeze one eye shut, "…are beautiful."

Axel smiled, enjoying the faint pink on Roxas's cheeks. With the pad of his thumb, he grazed it gently across Roxas's mouth. Closing the space between them slowly…_slowly_…Axel whispered, "And don't even get me started on your lips."

Roxas's eyes widened as his lips met with Axel's. At first, he kept his lips tightly together, unresponsive to the kiss. _No, no, no!_ His mind screamed in protest. _This can't happen. This can't happen. Axel doesn't know who I am…but…oh, god, his kisses…_ They overrode any sort of coherent thought away, and Roxas found himself reacting tentatively. His blue eyes remained wide opened in case Axel decided to pull any tricks, but the redhead was too into the moment to try anything.

Axel lightly leaned in some more, lowering Roxas to the ground as discreetly as possible. He started the kiss slow, sensing that Roxas was still feeling a bit tense. But with Axel's strong hands on his back, he started to relax into it. As Roxas's eyes fluttered shut and his lips parted slightly, Axel brushed his tongue along the inside of Roxas's mouth, earning a soft groan from the boy underneath him.

_I can take this to the next level, right? _Axel thought as he trailed his lips down Roxas's jaw line to his jugular, coaxing beautiful, tiny '_ah' _gasps from the younger. Small sounds, and he loved them. Axel felt Roxas's hips jerking a little; the boy was responding just by the way Axel ran one hand down the slight curve of Roxas's waist, and just by grinding against him a little made the boy's breath become slightly more erratic.

_"A--Axel…_"

_Ohgodfuck…_Taking this as a sign, the redhead's hand started to move up, and he touched the nape of Roxas's neck. Roxas's hair stood up on an end as Axel's fingers brushed innocently against the strands of his wig.

Shit.

In all of two seconds, Roxas turned his head away and shoved his hands between him and Axel, pushing him away. That insane state of arousal that he was just in disappeared in a flash. Tears welled in his eyes, but he refused for them to fall, "I can't do this," He whispered.

"What do you mean?" Axel lowered his head to kiss Roxas's lips again, but Roxas kept his hands firmly on Axel's chest, resisting the movement. Roxas swallowed hard, his cheek against the floor as he blinked away his tears.

"You're…I'm not who you think I am," His voice trembled, as he forced himself to look into Axel's cat-like green eyes, "You don't know who I am."

Axel looked confused, "Of course I do. You're Roxas."

_YES, I AM, _Roxas's thoughts screamed in desperation, _BUT I'M THE ONE YOU DESPISE!_ "No, you don't understand," A gleam of hurt crossed Axel's eyes, and it tore Roxas's heart out, "It's just…" He tried to explain, "I mean, there could be this whole other side of me that you don't know about, and…what if you just don't like it?" Roxas could feel his arms growing weak; they were shaking. He let them drop to the side, defeated.

_It won't work out._

He felt Axel kissing the corner of his lips, and he turned his head only to have Axel capturing his mouth fully. His eyebrows contracted in confusion. Axel broke the kiss, "I think I know you quite well, and I wouldn't care if you were horrible," Another kiss, "But if it scares you so much, you've got the whole year to show me. I don't mind waiting."

"But—"

"Look," Axel interrupted, "I love you," The three words sent Roxas's mind reeling, and his heart skipped a beat, "Isn't that enough? This is the first time something like this has happened to me."

"What if it isn't serious?" Roxas murmured, bracing himself to hear the answer. _What if I'm just another phase you'll get through?_

"I doubt it isn't," Axel knocked his forehead against Roxas's soothingly; "Just give me a chance."

_You have to tell him, Roxas. Just tell him. Get it over with. Tell him tell him tell him tell him..._

"Axel…there's something I need to tell you."

Axel had gone on to nuzzling Roxas's cheek with his nose, "Hm?" Once again, Roxas averted his gaze and took a shuddering deep breath. His hand gradually made its way up to his wig and he tugged anxiously at it,

"Um…well…" Roxas tried to think of possible ways he could say this, but he couldn't _think._ "Uh…it kinda goes like this…I'm…it's…"

Axel chuckled under his breath at Roxas's flustered form, "I love you, Roxas."

_That's the third time, _Roxas thought as his hands automatically wrapped themselves around Axel's torso, his fingers forgetting about taking off his wig. They were lying side by side now, and Roxas buried his nose into Axel's shirt, smelling the calming trace of the café's coffee. _Three times's the charm…_

"I like you too," Roxas responded in a soft undertone. Axel smiled, satisfied, encasing Roxas's small body with his arms, effectively trapping him in. The boy didn't want to think about anything else; just treasure the seconds he had with Axel in this room. _I'll tell him later…_ Roxas thought. _I'm a coward, I really am. But I just want him right now. Just for now._

It was nice, staying in the dark room alone with Axel. The redhead rubbed the small of Roxas's back, and all of a sudden, Roxas remembered something. He jerked his head up, glowering at Axel in a mocking manner, "What about my nose?"

"Huh?"

"You said something about my hands, then my eyes, but you completely skipped my nose and kissed me," Roxas tried to keep a straight face, resisting the strong urge to laugh. Axel merely continued to look bewildered, but then a smile tugged at the corner of Axel's lips and he grinned as well. He leaned down and licked the tip of Roxas's nose, causing the younger to flinch back.

"Axel!"

"What?" Axel scoffed, "Your nose is cute too," He hugged Roxas tighter, and Roxas copied him, "Everything 'bout you is cute," They both stayed silent for a while, letting the facts sink in, "So is this official? We're gonna make this work, right?"

_There's something horribly wrong with this, _Roxas reminded himself, but he ignored it, "Yeah," He nodded into Axel's shirt, "It'll work," His heart did a nice somersault as Axel pressed his lips against Roxas's forehead.

"Alright then," He sounded happy. Roxas's arm remained draped over Axel's waist, and though the ground was hard and near unwelcoming, it was nice to be in someone's arms. He could feel Axel's chest moving up and down as he breathed, "What now?"

Roxas mumbled something that sounded funnily like 'cuddle'. "I don't…feel like moving. Let's stay like this."

Axel's grip around Roxas tightened affectionately, "Okay."

Their legs touched and Axel tenderly propped his foot on top of Roxas's. With their legs intertwined and Axel's arm around him comfortingly, Roxas would have fallen asleep once more if not for the fear of his wig falling off while sleeping.

* * *

"You're straight?" Riku stared at Sora with a disbelieving expression, "_Straight_?"

Sora nodded sullenly, his head bent as Riku leaned over his small frame. Sora's back was pressed against the door, and Riku's arm was propped above him. For some reason, Riku didn't _want _to believe the brunet. How could he have chased after this boy without realizing that he was straight?! All those signs…

Were there signs?

Riku squinted at him, "Are you sure?"

"Are you questioning my sexual orientation?" Sora shot back defensively, but when he responded a second time, he didn't sound _too _sure. In fact, he sounded completely unconfident with his previous answer. "I _think_ I am."

"How do you know?" The corner of Riku's lip lifted, "Have you ever _tried _kissing a guy?"

Sora gulped, "Nooo, and I don't plan to," Darting around Riku's arms, he ran to the other side of the room where the bed was. "Well, I mean, okay, I've kissed a guy once but that's totally irrelevant. It kinda grossed me out."

"Maybe _I_ won't gross you out," Riku took a step towards him and Sora fell back onto the bed, bouncing a little as he sat on it. "Maybe _I'm _different," He watched as Sora lay on the bed, keeping a wary eye on the silver-haired male, "Why are you so scared? It's not like I'm gonna force anything on you," _Yet._ He thought, chuckling a little.

Sora gnawed on his bottom lip, his eyes shifting from one corner of the room to another, "Is this your room?"

"Mhm," Riku nodded. He continued advancing towards the brunet, and Sora's eyes visibly widened. He grabbed Riku's green pillow and held it close to his chest, "Weren't you the one who sent me that Boo Gram on Halloween?"

Sora blushed a new shade of red; it colored his whole face, "Who said _that_?"

"I've got ways of knowing things," Riku pushed Axel out of his mind and persevered with questioning Sora, "So why would you send me something like that if you didn't like me?"

"I like you as a friend! …I think."

"You _think_?" Riku's lips pursed in confusion, and Sora, in his mortification, buried his face into the pillow. Riku sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as Sora squirmed a little on his back, and he resisted every urge to tackle the brunet.

"Right," Riku just smiled knowingly, "So tell me again why you're hiding under a pillow?"

"Scared of the dark?" Sora said, laughing, but it subsided, "…I don't know. It's weird!"

"What is?"

Only a few small tufts of Sora's thick brown hair could be seen, and Riku leaned over him to see if he was peeking, but Sora's face was clearly hidden under the green pillow. Sora's grasp on the cushion tightened, "This _feeling_ –it's weird! I don't know how to explain it. It just is!"

Riku cocked his head to the side, sitting back, "What feeling?" He was starting to feel slightly amused by the way Sora was acting. A spark of awareness stabbed into him as soon as he saw Sora lowering the pillow and peeked out with one blue eye, but Sora covered his face again, groaning into the pillow,

"I dunno. Every time I'm with you, it's like," Sora wriggled his toes, "I like being with you. But when you're with Axel—what were you two doing in the kitchen anyway?—well, every time that happens, there's this weird pressure on my chest," He thumped on his chest to emphasize what he meant, "And it's weird," He lost count on how many times he had said that word. _Weird._

_It _is _weird._

"Sora…" Riku maneuvered himself so that he was positioned over Sora, but he was careful not to crush the younger, "Have you never felt jealous before?"

"I've felt jealous before!" Sora's response was muffled. "I just never felt this way towards another guy. It's a strange feeling, and I don't know how to explain it. You wouldn't know."

"I do know," Riku poked at the pillow, "I could probably make you feel it again. Like I said, I have super powers," The weight on Sora's abdomen suddenly disappeared as Riku adjusted himself above him. Sora's fingers loosened on the soft casing of the pillow, but they instantly tightened back around it as soon as he heard Riku's lulling voice, "Do I make you embarrassed, Sora?"

Cheeks burning, Sora didn't move. Because he didn't how to respond. Because _that_ _feeling_ was rising into his heart again. Just because. He kept his face pressed against the pillow, lips pursing together stubbornly. Then there was Riku's charming voice again,

"Maybe you like me, Sora."

_Maybe yes, maybe no…_m_aybe so? _Sora felt the pillow being slowly pried away from his face, and he didn't do anything to resist. From the warmth of the pillow, his face was now flushed and he looked through half-lidded eyes into Riku's green ones. A tentative bite on his lower lip, and Riku smiled, "You're adorable, you know that?"

Sora blushed. Riku gazed at his face, deep in thought, "What was I gonna do again?" He smirked arrogantly, "Oh, yeah." The bed creaked slightly as Riku lowered himself down and tilted Sora's chin so that he could kiss him. What took him aback was how Sora didn't push him back in disgust. No, it was the total _opposite _of that.

Sora kissed back.

There were a thousand butterflies in Sora's stomach, but he ignored them, his eyes sliding close. There! That feeling. The one that made his stomach churn pleasantly, the one that sent his heart beating out of control, but it was only for Riku, and no one else. Riku gently parted their lips, and Sora fluttered his eyelids back open as the silver-haired boy whispered huskily, "_That feeling_?"

Sora averted his gaze, "That feeling."

Riku nudged the curve of Sora's neck with his nose, "Not so straight, huh?"

Riku's hair tickled him, and he giggled slightly, "Um…I guess not."

"Yeah, well, you were halfway out of that closet anyway. I just had to pull you all the way through," He brushed a strand of hair from Sora's face, which only deepened the colour of Sora's cheeks, "This isn't gonna be a problem, is it?"

"No one knows," Sora mumbled in a quiet voice.

"Axel and Roku seem pretty aware of it," Riku started but Sora shook his head.

"I meant my other friends. Kairi and Hayner and everyone else," Sora ran his fingers through his hair resignedly, "My parents don't even know this and what if they don't like me anymore because of this? Like, I've been straight for as long as I can remember—"

"Yeah, straight as a circle."

"Riiikuuuu~"

Riku pressed his index finger on Sora's lips, silencing the brunet. That only earned him a reproachful stare, but he smiled anyway, "I'm sure Roku and Axel already know but if it's really a big deal for you, we can keep it a secret for a while, okay?"

"For a while," Sora repeated, his fingers interlacing with Riku's, "Until I'm ready?"

"Until you're ready."

"Is that okay?"

Riku took a deep breath; he had never been one to be patient on waiting, but Sora really _did _seem afraid of what others would think of him, especially his friends and family. Riku nodded; he'd give him a few days or so. He hummed against the flesh of Sora's neck, kissing the skin there, "That's definitely okay. As long as _you're _the one who knows we're together, I'm fine with anything, really."

"I promise I won't take long," Sora felt Riku squeezing his hand, and that was all the reassurance he needed.

* * *

Roxas didn't go to sleep, and neither did Axel. The two of them just lay there beside each other, listening to the whoops and shouts of Marluxia and his friends. They listened to the muffled silence of the room, and to each other's breathing. Axel nudged Roxas gently, and the blond glanced up, "What?"

"Do you wanna keep it quiet?"

Roxas stared, "Our relationship, you mean?" When he saw Axel inclining his head into a nod, he narrowed his eyes, "Why?" It wasn't that he was contradicting Axel's statement (he didn't fancy the whole school knowing either) but was it because Axel was embarrassed to have him as a boyfriend?

Axel shrugged, "A lot of things are happening this week."

"What's happening?" Roxas asked, lost.

"Major tests and projects on Monday and Tuesday…" Axel's eyes rolled up as he thought for a bit, "Marley and Larx are still having their little fight, and Marley's always a baby when others are in a relationship and his is a little on the rocky side."

"Right…" There was more to this, and Axel knew what Roxas was thinking.

"Okay, so it's not just that," Axel murmured into his hair, "But things happened when people found out I was gay. I don't want the same thing happening to you. It's not exactly a walk in the park, you know, and I refuse to see you get hurt."

"What happened?"

There was a short pause, then Axel breathed, "Just the normal shit you get with homophobes. Of course, there's the occasional fangirl who won't care."

Roxas thought about it, "Kay." He didn't mind. Not that much, anyway. He really didn't care if other people found out, but if Axel wanted this for him, then he probably knew better. That earned him another kiss on the lips, and he heard Axel's low, reassuring voice,

"Don't worry. I'm head over heels serious about you."

Roxas smiled blissfully into the kiss, but they knew their time was short-lived when they heard Marluxia sounding slightly happier,

"Where the hell did they go?"

There were a bunch of immature _oooohhhhhh's _and then the quick stomping of stairs. Axel groaned inwardly, predicting what was going to happen next. Marluxia's fist pounded against the locked door, "Who's in heeeere?"

Axel exchanged amused looks with Roxas, who just smirked behind his hand. They flew apart dramatically and Axel ran his long fingers through his hair. Roxas could distinctively make out the tattoos on his arms, but when his eyes went back to the redhead's face, he could tell Axel was scheming something.

_Oh, no._

"Marley? Oh,_" _Axel snickered, "Why are you interrupting us? We're having a—ah—_ahh…Rah—Roxas…"_

_Not this again._

"WHAT THE FUCK?! RIKU! AXEL'S MAKING A MESS IN YOUR PARENTS' BEDROOM!"

More pounding on the door. Roxas just stared at the door, then back at Axel, who was still making sex sounds. Axel was pretending that they were having sex, and Marluxia's friends wanted to see? What was wrong with this? Roxas groaned, rolling his eyes.

He heard the rattling of the door outside, and he figured that Marluxia and his friends were trying to unlock the door from the outside. He listened to them snickering and giggling, and then all of a sudden, the door flew open and Roxas blinked, the light blinding him. _Ahhh, the light…_

"OH, GOD. IT'S NOT EVEN SPRINGTIME. KEEP YOUR PANTS ON, AXEL, AND GET A ROOM."

"We _were _in a room before you barged in," Axel grumbled, and the group that had come in took a good look and saw that the two boys inside still had their clothes on. Roxas was feeling stiff even though he had been lying down for only a few minutes. "And my pants _are _on, are you blind?"

"AWWHHH, WERE YOU TWO CUDDLING? Ahahaha!" More of Marluxia's friends came and pointed at them. Roxas stared blandly at them. _Really? They're so immature. _Marluxia had actually managed to contain himself, cool and collected. He straightened up from his doubled-up, laughing form, but his smile dropped when he saw Axel's hand,

"Are you sticking your middle finger up at me?"

"No," Axel rolled his eyes, "The other four fingers cramped and this was the only one left standing up. That's what you get for interrupting us," He hooked his arm around Roxas playfully, "You're lucky we still had our clothes on."

"We weren't gonna do anything!" Roxas protested as Marluxia bent over to laugh again.

"You two weren't really having sex, were you?" Axel made a skeptic expression, pointing down at his clothes.

"Yes, I was having sex with my clothes on."

Marluxia shrugged, "Right. You two aren't even going out."

Axel just grinned, not answering. His eyes found Riku coming up from behind Marluxia's friends, Sora following him shortly after. By the look on Riku's face, he didn't know whether to be happy for him or not, "What's the verdict?"

Riku gave him a small smile, shaking his head, something that meant; _Nothing happened._ Roxas and Axel looked around to see Sora blushing, which probably meant: _A lot happened. _Roxas understood and agreed with Sora.

A _lot _happened.

* * *

**His Last Walk: **Ahahahashuddup. I'm a cheeseball, I know. Sue me. Longish Author's note because it's funny. _Ohgodfuck, _says Axel. Me and Sinful Zee sound quite high (high like street kids), and Earthly Evil's just stuck in the middle like "..." Interesting things happen when me and my friends are hyper. **_Chat orgy commence:_**

**Earthly Evil** says:  
*asjgbjkbgjDFGJDHSKG YOU.  
**His Last Walk **says:  
*ohgodfuck.  
*LOL xD  
**Earthly Evil** says:  
*it means thank you.  
**Sinful Zee **says:  
*annnnd ohgawdfck  
**His Last Walk **says:  
*LOL.  
**Earthly Evil **says:  
*eh?  
**Sinful Zee **says:  
*OHGODFUCK  
**His Last Walk **says:  
_* Ohgodfuck ..._  
**Earthly Evil **says:**  
***...  
**Sinful Zee **says:  
*Oh... g-god... fuck.  
*;D  
**Earthly Evil** says:  
*...


	12. XII

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Axel stalks Roxas to the bathroom. Excessive swearing of some sorts from Larxene. Uh... LOL, mentioning of masturbating? Moar drama? And yes, there is Marluxia x Larxene in here. Sorry.

**Pairings: **More AkuRoku, a little less SoRiku in this one, Marluxia x Larxene and a little Zemyx. :3

**His Last Walk:** A week passes by, so I'm sorry if things are moving too fast, but I mean, I need to get stuff through. D: And um, I'm _honestly _feeling bad that you guys have to wait so long for Axel to find out, but once again; **he's not gonna find out until 2384738 chapters in. **(Exaggeration) Please be patient. D: I'll love you forever. I've got other conflicts and stuff so... Gah.

**

* * *

**

**XII**

Axel confessing to Roxas was just the beginning of a very strange week. On **Sunday**, Demyx found out, but when Roxas thought that the other blond would chastise him first, he was shot with many more questions of 'does Axel know what kinds of things Zexion likes?' It wasn't until Demyx calmed down a little that they were able to have a real conversation.

"Does he know who you really are?"

Roxas bent his head, his blue eyes staring steady at the ground, "No…" Demyx continued to look at him reproachfully, and Roxas caved in, "I couldn't help it! He was so smooth with his words and I couldn't _think_! I wanted to tell him, Demyx, really! But I…just couldn't get it out."

"How do you know he'll care so much?"

"He hates me," Roxas mumbled, "I hear him talking about my other life every other day. He thinks I'm a slut and I can't change his mind."

Demyx was silent as he mulled over what Roxas said. The younger blond sighed wearily, and Demyx said, "You know you're digging yourself a bigger hole every day that you're dating him and he doesn't know who you are."

"I know," Roxas threw his hands up miserably as he collapsed into the couch, "But I'm still the same person! I'm just scared that he won't _accept _it."

Demyx swung his legs onto the couch where Roxas's lap was, "Well, you've got the whole year to tell him. Take your time," Roxas nodded in agreement, but the very thought was depressing.

"It's like you're telling me that our relationship won't even last for a year!" Roxas tugged at his blond hair, wincing as some fair strands parted from his scalp, "This is stressing me out already and it's not even been a day yet!"

Demyx laughed, not unkindly, "Maybe it'll work out," Roxas leaned back and sighed.

_Maybe…_

**

* * *

**

**Monday** was slightly stranger. It was the first time that Roxas had actually noticed that there were people in the school that liked him and Sora, many of which still mistook them as twins. Most of the people had sent Roxas a Boo Gram, and only a few had finally plucked up the courage to tell him.

It was first period class, and since Mr. Vexen was late (for the tenth time since the year started), Kairi, Hayner, Sora, and Roxas were huddled in the corner, and they were just jumping from topic to topic,

"Did you get that music book you wanted?"

Sora nodded at Roxas, grinning, "Yeah. I got it yesterday with Rik—" Sora seemed to completely choke on the letter 'k', and it looked like he was totally incapable of pronouncing the 'u' sound.

"Riku," Roxas provided.

"Yeah," Sora blushed. Kairi and Hayner had no idea what was going on, but they decided not to speak up about it. Hayner nudged Roxas in the ribs, winking.

"So I heard someone's crushing on you."

"Huh?" Roxas gulped; didn't Axel say that he wanted things to go slow at first? That he wasn't going to tell anyone. What the _fuuuuuck_. Had the word that he and Axel were dating gotten out that quick? Who was the one that spread it? Roxas loosened the collar around his neck, and he took a shaky breath, "What do you mean?"

Hayner's jaw dropped, "Don't tell me you've never noticed! She's always trying to think of a good reason to come and try to talk to you." _She? _When he saw Roxas's bewildered expression, Hayner sighed, exasperated, "Oh, lord. And to think she tries so hard. You've _never _noticed her. You know, she has big green eyes, brown hair always in some sorta pigtails…the one who always does her homework in class…?"

"Ol…lie?"

"Olette!" Hayner slapped his hand onto his forehead, "Olette in our third period class! Man, you're slow…"

_I'm sorry I don't pay attention to girls,_ Roxas thought apologetically. He shrugged, "She likes me?"

"She _loves _you," Hayner rolled his eyes, "She told me she was gonna confess to you soon. You're single, right?"

"Um, actually—"

"But she told me not to say anything, so if she does confess soon, pretend you never saw it coming," Hayner flashed him a smile, and just as Roxas was about to respond, Mr. Vexen strode into class with a look that told everyone that he had probably overslept. And by the way he was holding his head while scribbling something down on the chalkboard, Roxas guessed that he had a hangover.

After that class, Roxas was in the hallway, waiting for Axel to come by for lunch. The redhead had rushed over to his locker, heavy books in his arms and his crimson hair was all over the place, more so than other days. He rolled his eyes, "I got a project to do during lunch so I can't stay long. Sorry."

Roxas shrugged indifferently; he had wanted to tell Axel that there were a few girls coming onto him, and he didn't want to deal with them by bumping into them in the cafeteria, but there was no reason to make Axel worried…or jealous, "There's always next time."

"Yeah, but I kinda wanted to be with you today," Axel sighed, adjusting the books in his arms, "My partners are slackers. They're not doing any of the work, but I can't really find them, and I've got about," He checked the time, "I've got about an hour and a bit to finish a PowerPoint by myself."

"Do you need help?" Axel was looking quite distressed.

"No," He shook his head, "It's fine. I'll get it done," Everyone had gone to their next class, and the halls were pretty empty by now. Axel took a quick peek to the left, another fleeting glance at his right, and then he smiled at Roxas. The other boy blinked.

"What?"

"Nothing," Axel leaned down and kissed Roxas on the mouth, "See you~" And he darted off into the vague direction of the library. Roxas just stared after him, licking his lips. Axel always chose the best times to kiss him.

**

* * *

**

During fourth period, as Roxas stepped into the washroom, there was no one there. As soon as he came out of the stall and washed his hands _and _was about to leave the bathroom, Axel had 'coincidentally' needed to go to the bathroom, and then he saw the other boy frolicking around and decided to stalk him. Roxas highly doubted that the first part was true, but he didn't complain. The thought didn't even cross his _mind _once he felt Axel's mouth on his, that heated body against his, and the redhead's hands were…everywhere.

It was almost near impossible _not_ to wrap his legs around that skinny waist. A few minutes later of heavily making out, Roxas mumbled into Axel's mouth,

"_Axel, _I need to…get back to class," Roxas feebly tried to push Axel away, but the redhead had him effectively trapped in the corner of the washroom.

"Tell 'em you had a stomach ache," Axel licked the shell of Roxas's ear, causing the boy to shudder in pleasure. "I hardly got to see you today," Then, with a chuckle under his breath and a small yank at Roxas's pants' waistline, Axel whispered huskily, "Hear that as: I didn't get to touch your sexy body at _all _today."

"Uhn…Until now," Roxas managed to say, resisting any move to buck his hips.

"Until now," Axel repeated, his hands slipping underneath Roxas's shirt and they rested on the boy's hips. He brought their lips together again in a soft kiss, and Roxas practically melted into it. But when he felt Axel's hands attempting to travel a little further back and a little bit lower, he growled a little, resistant, which only made Axel chuckle.

Roxas brought his leg up so that he could try and shove Axel away again. Axel just snickered at his attempts and stuck out his tongue, trailing it down Roxas's neck.

"_Axel…"_ Roxas had no idea how he even managed to glare at Axel in his half-aroused state. _I NEED TO GET TO CLASS!_

"Yes Roxy?"

"Ah—" Axel's name was cut off by a damp stutter as soon as the redhead started sucking Roxas's neck. The boy's hands tangled themselves in Axel's brilliant, crimson hair, a soft moan escaping through his lips. Axel sighed against his neck; _I could just come hearing you like this._

"A-Axel…someone's gonna come in…and see…_ahh..._need…to get to class," Roxas shook his head, and Axel released him. Roxas wriggled free but he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down. He stole a quick glimpse at the mirror to check the damage his boyfriend had done, and he scowled,

"_AXEL_!"

"You just _never_ get tired of saying my name, don't you?" Axel leaned against the wall with a cocky smile. Roxas brushed his hand across the blemish forming on the once-flawless skin on his neck. It was a good thing that he didn't have any model shoots for the week. He hoped this one would go away soon or else Demyx was going to have to do some major photo-shopping to get rid of _this _mark.

He pouted, "Thanks a lot."

"Aw," Axel was in a really good mood, "But you were so cute a few seconds ago, going all '_mmm…ah, Ahhxel~ _' on me."

"I did _not _do that. Don't make it sound like we were doing porno in the bathroom," Roxas glared at him until Axel looked away. Triumphantly, Roxas wrapped a hand around Axel's shirt collar and yanked him down into a kiss. "See you after school." And he left the washroom with a smirk. When he had pressed himself against Axel, he couldn't help but notice the other boy's hardening arousal in his pants.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised when he heard from the other boys in the school complaining that the senior boys' washroom smelled like cum. Axel probably had to jack off.

**

* * *

**

It was **Tuesday** that something unexpected happened. Well, it was expected, but to be honest, Roxas wished that it didn't happen. It was just another opportunity to spark up Axel's jealousy, but that was only if Roxas remained silent about it.

Olette had approached him after his last period math class, standing beside his desk. His desk was right next to a wall, so he was pretty much trapped between his desk, chair, the wall, and Olette. _So this was who Hayner was talking about…yeah, I vaguely remember her…_He sighed, doing his best to smile, "Hi."

"Hello Rokusasu," The brunette smiled serenely, her hands behind her back.

Roxas waited, slowly putting his papers into his bag. Olette watched him with careful eyes, and he was starting to feel a little self-conscious. He popped his collar to hide the hickey on his neck, which was _still _there. Axel liked that, of course. Olette cleared her throat, a small, innocent sound, "So, um, do you have anything to do after school?"

"I gotta go home. I have lots of homework to do," Roxas answered truthfully. He was buried underneath piles of textbooks and homework pages from them due this week. Olette nodded, her pink lips forming a small frown. Roxas raised one shoulder and lowered it, "Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"Kinda," Olette bit down on her bottom lip, and Roxas couldn't help himself growing impatient. He was just about to dart around her when she held her hand out. Roxas glanced down; in her hand was a small, red, paper rose. He had watched her fold it in class, but he never expected that it was for _him._ He gawked at it, making one of the stupidest sounds ever made in humankind,

"Uh…"

"I want you to have it."

"I, uh…um, thanks, Olette. But I don't know…" _Axel might not like this. Actually, Axel **will **not like this. _

"What, you don't like roses?"

"No, I love roses," Roxas really was a hopeless romantic, but he never usually admitted that to anyone. However, with Olette's green eyes – which were totally different from Axel's – staring at him, he just slipped it out. He took it from her hands, holding it in the palm of his own hand, "Thanks."

She beamed, "You're really nice, Roku."

"I am?" Roxas laughed.

"That's why I really like you."

Laughter stopped. "Oh," Olette leaned forward a little, which caused Roxas to lean back. He propped his foot on the chair and jumped over, escaping, much to Olette's dismay. "Ah, I'm really flattered, Olette, really, I am," He walked backwards towards the door, which gave him many more strange stares from the girl, "But, I'm just not really interested in a relationship right now."

"But—"

"I gotta go I'm gonna miss my bus bye!" Roxas let it out all in one breath, and as soon as he was out of the classroom, he sighed in relief. He fiddled with the rose in his hand as he made his way to his locker. He still had a good five minutes before he really had to rush to his bus, but Olette didn't know that. The hallways were packed, and he guarded the fragile paper rose with his body; even though it was from someone he didn't really know, he just happened to really like how it was made.

He reached his locker. Finally. Sora and Riku were there, but they were just having a friendly chat. Roxas couldn't help but notice that Riku was a little bit too close for his own good, and Sora had nowhere to back into. Roxas opened his locker,

"What's that you have there?"

Roxas felt Axel breathe in his ear and he turned around, "Hm?"

"Is that for me?" Axel grinned, pointing down at the red rose. Roxas looked down as well as he closed his locker,

"Actually, someone made it for me," Roxas felt the paper leaves with his fingers, "A girl from my math class."

Axel's smile instantly disappeared, and just as Roxas had expected, Axel's grip around the book in his hand suddenly tightened and he scowled, "What?" Roxas knew he had heard perfectly well, but just as he was about to reassure him that he did not like the girl, Axel plucked the rose from Roxas's grasp and walked over to Sora. He pushed it in front of the brunet's face, "Happy birthday, it's for you."

"Huh? My birthday?"

"What the fuck, Axel…" Riku frowned.

"Hey, that was mine!" Roxas objected, and just when he started to reach for it, Axel grabbed onto his arm and started to half-drag him towards the exit of the school. Axel nearly forced him into the bus seat and as Roxas shuffled over near the window, trying not to get crushed by Axel's body as the other sat down, Axel turned to face him,

"If you want roses, I'll give you real ones next time," His frown deepened, "But you're not allowed to accept any gifts from other people. Especially girls that like you."

"Says who?"

To Roxas's confusion, Axel opened the book and placed it in front of the window to shield the other student's view. When he took a good look around and realized that no one was looking, he leaned in and stole a kiss from Roxas, his eyes stern, "Says me."

When Riku got onto the bus, he threw the rose back at Axel's face, which did not improve the redhead's mood. For the rest of the bus ride, he was carefully trying to light the rose on fire. It was only funny when the bus driver suddenly noticed the amount of smoke coming from the back of the bus and how the girls were screaming in panic.

Roxas decided that he liked it when Axel was jealous.

**

* * *

**

**Wednesday** was peculiar. Roxas had the feeling that Axel was hiding something from him, but every time he wanted to ask him about it, Axel would just evade him. He wasn't in a good mood during lunch with Sora.

"So you rejected Olette, huh?"

Roxas bit his lip, "I wouldn't say I rejected her…"

"You ran away from her when you confessed and gave you that rose. She says, and I quote: 'Roku jumped over ten chairs and flew out the window like she was some sort of plagued disease.'"

"First of all, I _walked _out the _door_, and if I remember correctly, I only jumped over one," Roxas rolled his eyes, "Do girls always exaggerate things?"

"Sometimes," Sora grinned, "You should have just told her that you were taken. Now she thinks something's wrong with her. I know, I know," Sora added, raising his hand, "You and Axel wanna keep it a secret too, but I was just saying. By the way, what's your locker combination?"

Roxas blinked at the abrupt question, "Why?"

"In case I suddenly forget…my locker combination and I have to put some stuff away. I can just put it in yours."

"That's highly unlikely, but okay…" Roxas trusted Sora anyway. What was the brunet gonna do anyway? He wrote down his locker combination and handed it to Sora, who cheerfully slipped it into his pocket. "I actually _liked _that rose. I want to learn how to do that."

Sora nodded, "Yeah. Too bad Axel burned it. You like flowers?"

Another question, but this one was slightly less random, "I guess I do," Roxas admitted, "Don't tell anyone though, especially to any more girls. I don't think I want Axel lighting more things on fire beside me on the bus."

Sora laughed.

The rest of the day only went by stranger. It was after the last period bell rang that Roxas was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable; he hadn't seen Axel the whole day, and during his fourth period, he heard Zexion's voice over the announcements. He rested his head onto the desk as he listened to Zexion's I've-said-this-way-too-many-times voice stating:

"Axel Kurosairi, please stop skipping class and report back to your English class please. Thank you."

_What's Axel doing out of class? _Roxas thought, but as soon as Mr. Xemnas slammed the ruler onto his desk and yelled something about 'Roku, you're not paying attention!', he immediately discarded the thought. Mr. Xemnas, with no doubt, was a very scary teacher.

Like that one time, one of the kids decided to make an anagram of Xemnas's name. The silver-haired teacher was not amused that the boy had spelled his name as M-A-N-S-E-X, and the boy was sent to a detention period on his lunch. The next day when Roxas saw him, he was pale and stuttering after every other word. This made Roxas wonder: what exactly happened in detention with Mr. Mansex?

Now that it was the end of school, Roxas made his way to his locker. He was rather surprised to see Axel leaning against the locker next to his, but because the redhead had made no moves the entire day to be with Roxas, the boy wasn't too happy.

"What do you want?"

"Ouch," Axel smirked, "So cold."

Roxas huffed through his nose, turning away. He spun the dial on his lock, and wrinkled his nose as he did so. Was it just him, or did something smell strange? It almost smelled like…

He opened his locker and the next thing he knew, he fell backwards and was buried under a bunch of plastic wrappings and flower petals. Roxas flailed his arms, trying to get to the surface and doing his best to ignore the laughter erupting from all around him; Axel's was the loudest. Scowling, he brushed the bouquets out of his face and gasped for breath,

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Axel shrugged, "I heard you like flowers."

"YOU SENT ME THESE?" Roxas's jaw dropped, staring at the amount of bouquets that were literally crammed into that small space he called a locker. Axel shrugged as if it didn't matter,

"Eh, it was nothing. It's cheesy, but _someone,_" He pointedly glared at Riku, "Was bugging me to do something nice for you, so I had to," He beamed at Roxas, speaking in a lower tone, "Do you like them? Riku helped me stuff them in."

Roxas's astounded silence was all that he needed to hear.

**

* * *

**

Demyx had a hard time trying to find a place to put all the flowers. He ended up having to give half of them to their neighbours.

**

* * *

**

Thursday had been pretty chill. Most of the drama happened on **Friday**, but that was because he had been caught in the middle of Marluxia and Larxene's fight. Axel had promised him that once the fight was over, there would be no more need to hide their relationship. Marluxia refused to be in the same room as Larxene, and Roxas felt that it was about time that he knew what they were fighting about.

But he was too scared to ask Larxene.

As they sat around the bathroom (Marluxia was not there, and so it wasn't as lively as it should be), Roxas raised his voice timidly, "Um, Larx?"

"Don't call me Larx," The blonde snapped.

Roxas nodded apologetically, "Can I ask you something?" Before Larxene could say yes or no, Roxas continued on, "What exactly happened between you and Marluxia?"

"Something stupid," Was all she said. Axel exchanged looks with Riku,

"By 'something stupid', do you mean he wanted to watch a chick flick and you wanted to watch an action movie or something? That was what your last fight was about, wasn't it?" Axel snickered as Larxene sent him a death glare.

"No, something stupid as in Saturday morning, we were walking around on a date and then these jackasses came around and said I looked like a guy. Then they called Marl—ugh, _him _a homosexual. He didn't get offended by that, and in all honesty, I didn't get offended when they called me a guy either. But then he went on a rampage and told them to get lost for calling me a boy. He was making a really big scene—"

"Yep, that's Marley."

"—And then I got pissed and when I told him to stop, he said something about protecting me and stuff. I told him he didn't have to, and you know what he did afterwards?"

Riku shrugged, and Axel followed suit. Roxas and Sora didn't know Marluxia that well, so they stayed silent as well. Larxene slammed her fist against the ground, "He walked away! That's all! I _told _him he didn't have to take care of me and he just said bye and left," Larxene let out a shrill laugh, but everyone in the bathroom could tell she wasn't laughing because she thought it was funny. She was pretty pissed.

"He just wants to protect you," Riku started.

"Why? I can fully protect myself and I can protect _him _as well."

Everyone knew this. Axel just shook his head, "Whatever. You guys will get over it soon. Your last fight didn't even last for a week. Watch, I bet by the end of today, you'll both be at Marley's house, fucking each other like bunnies…"

"Shut up, Axel," Larxene scowled.

By the way Riku and Axel were looking at each other, they knew what Axel said was true. Axel glanced down at his watch, then at the washroom door as if he were waiting for someone to come, "Well, do you _love _him?" Larxene stared at him, and her lips tightened. It looked like she _really _didn't want to say it. Axel just shrugged again, "Cause if you don't love him, I can just tell him right now and you two can break it off officially—"

"OKAY, FINE. I _love _him, for fuck's sake!" Larxene shouted, throwing a shoe at Axel's head; the redhead managed to dodge out of that one in time. Riku snorted into his hand and Larxene sent him a poisonous glare as well, "There! I said it. Now stop staring at me like I've grown another fucking head! I just don't want him to walk away from me, but you know I wouldn't tell him not to!"

Axel burst out laughing, returning her shoe, "Man, you two are the weirdest couple I know."

"I know," Said a voice behind Roxas, and they all turned around to see Marluxia turning the corner. His hands were in his pockets, and his eyes had some sort of cold look to it, but when they fell on Larxene, they became somewhat warmer. "Hey, babe."

Larxene just scowled. Marluxia pouted, "Alright, don't say hi back."

"You were listening, weren't you?"

Marluxia twirled a strand of pink hair between his fingers, "And if I was?"

"I'll kill you—"

Marluxia abruptly stomped over and literally crashed his lips onto hers, cutting off the rest of her swear words. Her eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare, and even though she punched him to make him let go, he didn't yield. In the end, she just gave up.

And Roxas left the bathroom. This was all too weird for him to deal with, and he didn't want to see the two make out. Axel and Riku were acting as if this was completely normal. He heard the bathroom door swing open and he realized Axel was chasing after him. The redhead's hand around his waist made him smile, and he turned around only to be pressed against his boyfriend's chest.

"Finally," Axel whispered.

"That took a while," Roxas agreed. "You knew Marluxia was eavesdropping, weren't you?"

"Yeah, well, I was the one who told him to come. They would have taken weeks this time," He patted Roxas's head, "And I'm never one to be patient."

Roxas grinned, "How're you gonna tell everyone now?" He knew Axel was just waiting for the right opportunity, but he couldn't help but wonder how the redhead was planning to this, "Please don't tell me you're going to go to Zexion's office and use the announcement thingy," He could just imagine it:

_Attention everyone. Axel is now dating Roxas. Thanks for listening to this completely random announcement. _

Axel threw his head back in a laugh, "I _would _do that, but he isn't here right now, and his office is locked up. So, no, not that. We'll see, okay? Monday."

"Okay. Monday."

**

* * *

**

After school, Roxas was rewarded with a very…well, pleasant wasn't a word to describe it, but it was definitely a surprise. After the bus dropped him off at Demyx's apartment, and Roxas was already in a pretty good mood, he took the elevator up, humming. Just as he was about to unlock the door, he heard Demyx talking,

"Stay a while."

Roxas made a face, but his eyes widened in dawning comprehension when he heard another familiar voice, "I _can't_. Your son's going to come home any time soon and he's going to think something's happening between us—"

"But something _is _happening between us, Zexion. And he's _not _my son."

Roxas banged his forehead on the door in exasperation, and the voices stopped. Zexion's icy voice slipped through the door, "That's him, isn't it?"

"Aha…hey, Rokusasu."

Roxas swung the door open and was met with an even bigger surprise. Zexion was sitting in his favorite red couch, and Demyx was practically on top of him, his arms around Zexion's waist. The first thing Roxas did was look down to see if Zexion's pants were on, and his principal glared at him accusingly,

"Rokusasu, I know what you're thinking…"

Demyx started chortling, "Roku! We're not doing anything like _that_!" He snuggled into Zexion's stomach and the slate-haired man's eyes widened and he made an attempt to make a run for it, but to his embarrassment, Demyx just pushed him back down. Roxas rolled his eyes,

"Don't worry, sir. I'm not going to blackmail you…" _Oh…that's a good idea…_ "Your secret is safe with me."

Zexion did not look entirely reassured, "I only came to ask your guardian something. Your English teacher has been complaining that you have not been handing in your assignments on time."

At this, Roxas glared at Demyx, who returned it with one of his innocent looks. He only tightened his hug around Zexion when Roxas pointed at the computer, "I _would _have my assignments completed in time if my idiot of a guardian would _stop _deleting my work every time I saved it. I'd have it the night before, but the next day, it's gone. I wonder _why_…"

Demyx just grinned away. Roxas knew why. Just another great excuse for Demyx to see Zexion. It was only a good thing that Roxas's English teacher was nice and he was actually passing that class with a mark of eighty-one percent. Thank god for that one test he perfected in. When Roxas first saw that mark, he burst out laughing.

"I'm leaving," Zexion muttered.

"Nooo! Don't leave! I was just about to 'get my sexy on'—"

"Shut up. No. I'm leaving. Let me go--" Zexion made a funny noise when Demyx tackled him again into the couch, another stupid grin on his face. A light pink was starting to color Zexion's face, and Demyx leaned in closer,

"You're not going anywhere."

"You're so forward," Zexion mumbled.

Demyx decided to take that as a compliment and he beamed, "Just stay for dinner!"

"I…really can't…" Zexion glanced over to where Roxas was. The boy sighed, scratching at his wig. He had really wanted to take it off when he had gotten home, but now he couldn't. Not when his principal was there. Not to mention this was _already _awkward.

He shrugged, "Sorry, can't help you. I'll be in my room doing homework. Have fun, you two."

And then, to Zexion's despair, Roxas left Demyx alone with him and closed the door, but that didn't stop Demyx from making obnoxious and disturbing kissing sounds. Roxas could just imagine how desperate Zexion was trying to get away from his blond friend, and it took everything in Roxas not to steal Demyx's camera and take pictures.

As he finished his homework and opened the door back to where the two adults were, he noticed that his principal had finally managed to get out of the room after reluctantly bribing Demyx with a kiss. But as he left with a flushed face, Roxas couldn't help but think that Zexion might have enjoyed that kiss as much as Demyx did.

**

* * *

**

Roxas thought that everything would eventually work out the next Monday, but he was wrong. Something had been brewing up between Sora and Riku over the weekend, and he hadn't noticed before, but it all started up again when Kairi came over to them during lunch. Roxas already knew that Riku was getting slightly impatient.

She had fully flaunted forwards and wrapped her arms around Sora,

"Hi, Sor!"

Riku's face had visibly darkened, and Sora looked a bit awkward, "Hi, Kairi."

Roxas and Axel exchanged looks. The redhead still had her arms around Sora's waist and she was now swaying side to side. Roxas could understand this since they were best friends, but since Sora had a boyfriend…really, Kairi shouldn't be this close. But the girl had _no idea. _Riku shoved his hands into his pockets, secretly glaring at Kairi from behind. Sora didn't know what to do,

"What is it?"

"You should come with me to the mall today!"

Sora's eyes widened, "Why?"

"We haven't hung out in so _loooong,_" Kairi sighed, "We should, you know, hang out for a bit. Just me and you. Like in grade seven."

"But that was when we were dating, Kairi," Sora explained. Riku looked away.

The girl shrugged, "You always said there _might _be another chance if I asked," Sora opened his mouth to protest, but Kairi swiftly placed a hand on his lips, "It's just the mall, okay? We're just going to hang out. I'll see you after school!" Sora weakly mumbled something back, and she skipped away. Riku looked devastated.

Sora scratched the back of his head, "Ahh, sorry about that. She does this a lot."

"A lot?" Riku scowled, "We were supposed to go somewhere after school today. You went somewhere with Kairi on Saturday and I let you because…you know, you said you weren't ready to be seen in public with me."

This made Sora blush deeply, "…Right…But you know I can't say anything! I hardly go out anywhere with guys, and once she finds out then…" He trailed off. Riku took a deep breath.

"It's been a week already…"

"Just give me some more time," Sora begged. Riku's lips tightened and for a long moment, neither of them said anything. Riku was the first to glance away this time. His hands gripped the corner of the table as he stood up. His silver hair covered his eyes as he looked at Sora.

Axel breathed deeply, placing his hands behind his head, waiting for someone to say something, _C'mon, Riku…do it for Sora…_

Riku let out a shaky breath, "Fine." Sora's face cracked into a smile, but it immediately disappeared when Riku walked away. Sora's eyes widened in confusion, and he turned to Axel,

"He's not mad…is he?"

Roxas averted his eyes; Riku _did _look a bit mad, but he didn't think it was directed towards Sora. Maybe because Sora seemed a little ashamed to be going out with Riku. The taller redhead bit down his lips and shook his head,

"Don't worry about it, Sora."

Roxas's eyes met with Axel's, and they both thought the same thing. _I guess we can delay telling everyone until **this **fixes up._

_

* * *

**His Last Walk: **Yeah, he's mad. For some reason, Fanfiction is only allowing me to type in italics, so okay. Err, I'm sorry nothing really happened in this chapter, but I needed some time spaced out, or else everything would be too sudden. I promise there'll be something a little more interesting happening in the next chapter. Sorry again. D:  
_


	13. XIII

**Summary:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warnings:** LOLANGST. Kinda. Hardly. Well, there's more drama in this chapter but it kinda ends at the end. Embarrassing moments. That's all.

**Pairings:** More SoRiku. Where has the AkuRoku gone? Oh, there it is -sticks it at the end- And slight Zemyx. I'm so bad. But I can't think of anything right now. D:

**His Last Walk would like you to know**: Just enjoy the story. I mean, yeah, expect that Axel will eventually find out about Roxas, but it's not anytime soon. I'm just saying that now cause I've been getting a number of reviews about that. xD ALSO, I HAVE A GREEN LOLLIPOP. LOL. So, yes, I am hyper.

* * *

**XIII**

It didn't get better. Riku's frustration with Sora only built up as the days went by, and Roxas and Axel found that they could do nothing to help. They hadn't broken up or anything, mainly because Sora refused to. He was still attached to Riku, but Roxas could tell that the brunet was utterly torn.

At first, Roxas thought that Riku was being just a little bit too harsh on Sora. If Riku really loved Sora, he would be patient and wait. But then again, Roxas saw where Riku was coming from. That last relationship with Axel hadn't been…a really good one. The fact that Sora wouldn't even consider them officially together was a little discomfiting for the silver-head.

Not only that, but Kairi kept coming onto Sora now. Because Sora couldn't do anything to shove her completely away, she kept advancing towards him. Riku would sometimes drag Sora off and shout back an excuse to the offended redhead. Roxas and Axel knew that if this didn't stop, the relationship could end.

With Riku's permission, Roxas dragged Sora out after school, and together, they sat on the swings of the park across the school. Riku had gone home, and Axel had to stay after school for art week. Together, the two boys sat and watched as a few elementary school kids ran around the park. Roxas had gotten used to seeing them there.

"So…" Roxas hated starting awkward conversations, "What's up with you and Riku?"

Sora dragged his feet into the sand. He was wearing a scarf and a blue hat, and Roxas noticed that he was shivering from the cold. He shrugged, swinging back and forth, "I don't know."

They stayed silent. Sora kept his eyes on the seagulls above them, "Am I doing something wrong, Roku?"

Roxas bit his lip, "I…"

"I don't know what to do!" Sora kicked his feet and swung backwards, "I honestly don't. I _want _to … uh, show signs of affection towards Riku, but you know, it's kinda hard. I can't give him a hug without blushing. He can't kiss me because he knows that I'm uncomfortable with everyone knowing. And Kairi still thinks I like her."

"Tell her you don't," Roxas stated, "It's as simple as that."

Sora sent him a dubious look, "You're not the one that'll have to see her face fall once I tell her that. It sorta hurts, even if I don't like her that way. We're still friends, and I cherish that relationship. It's hard to tell her that I don't like her that way when she's got her head wrapped around that fact."

Roxas nodded, "Fine. I'll give you that."

"And what's she gonna think once she finds out that I'm gay for Riku?"

"As long as you have Riku, you shouldn't care."

"What about you?" Sora shot back, "What about you and Axel? You two should've told everyone by now."

Roxas didn't want to tell him that they were just waiting for the drama between Sora and Riku to clear up. It would only make Sora feel worse, and so he kept quiet after that accusation. Roxas blew hot air into his mittens; his hands were cold even with them on. Sora looked quite depressed as he swung back and forth on the wooden swing,

"I want to get it out," Sora said in his small voice, "You don't know how much it hurts to see Riku in the hallway and not tackle him down in a hug. I want to tell him that I really like him, but I just don't know how. I mean, I've never…liked a guy before."

"I know," Roxas said.

"So what should I _do_?" Sora glanced over at Roxas with a pleading look in his blue eyes. Roxas actually had no idea, but with that look in his friend's eyes, he knew that he should at least give some advice, though he knew nothing about this.

"Try talking to him," Roxas gripped the steel chains of the swing as he pushed himself forwards, "Explain to him. I think the main reason why he's mad is because he doesn't understand why you can spare time for Kairi and not for him, even as friends."

"But I told him—"

"Tell him again. You guys have to talk to each other," Roxas smiled, "That's what couples do. They talk. Don't think on it too much or you'll hurt your head."

Sora let out a shaky laugh. His hands clasped together worriedly and his eyes kept shifting from the school to the slide beside him. Roxas waited patiently; he saw some of the students coming out from the school now. Axel wasn't there though.

"Okay, I'll talk to him. I'll see how it goes because, you know, I really like him. More than I liked Kairi, which is actually saying something because people were saying I was obsessed with her," He laughed again, "It's different, liking Riku. I like it, and I really don't want it to end," He sent Roxas a smile, "Thanks for talking to me."

"I'm here for you," Roxas shrugged, "I figured you needed someone to talk to."

"Yeah," Sora grinned, "I dunno if I could ever talk to Hayner like this," Sora jumped off his swing and brushed his school pants off. Roxas dragged his shoes into the sand to stop himself from swinging and his friend faced him. "Thanks for talking to me."

Roxas smiled, "No problem."

Sora shivered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, clenching his hands into fists and unclenching them. He blinked hard, "…I'm cold."

Roxas nearly laughed, "Where's Riku when you need him?" He stood up from his swing and moved towards Sora. He wrapped his arms around Sora's skinny frame in a friendly hug. Roxas could feel Sora's arms going around his middle as well, but it was sort of stiff. Roxas's arms hung there limply as well, and then he piped up, "Okay, this is kinda awkward."

"Yeah, just a little."

The two of them pried away from each other and shuffled away. Roxas rubbed the back of his head with his mittens, "Do you want to take the bus home? It's a little cold to be walking back home."

Sora nodded in agreement, "Good idea."

**

* * *

**

It was really hard for Sora to get the words out. And somehow, even though Roxas knew that it was going to happen, he couldn't tell Riku what he really wanted to say. The words: 'I really like you, maybe even love you, but I just need a little bit more time. Please understand' kept coming out wrong. But it seemed that with Sora being all flustered, it softened Riku a little. The silver-haired male rested his hand on Sora's head and tousled his hair a little,

"I just don't get why you're so ashamed of being with me."

"I'm not," Sora grabbed Riku's hand from the top of his head and held it firmly, "I'm not ashamed; I just want to keep it a secret for now. Please, Riku, just give me a few more days. That's all I'm asking."

Riku shook his head tiredly, "I'll wait, Sora, you know I will. I just wish people would stop touching you and looking at you like…I don't know. It just bothers me and I just…" He trailed off as soon as he saw Kairi coming up again. Roxas bit down on his bottom lip; he knew what was coming.

"So-ra! Are you coming? We have to do that English project! It's due tomorrow and we've got almost nothing done!" She turned towards the rest of the boys, "Hi."

It was like every time she was with Sora, she was in a bubbly mood. Riku gave her a nod of acknowledgement, whereas Axel and Roxas both muttered a quiet: "Hey."

_Not now. Why did she have to come when things were just starting to get better?_

Sora looked rather uncomfortable when Kairi latched onto him again. Riku's eyes narrowed dangerously once more and the silver-head waited for Sora to fend her off. But the brunet only edged a little away from the girl, creating a little more space between their bodies that were oh-so close to each other.

Riku's voice was quiet, "You should do your project."

"Yeah, come on, Sora," Kairi pulled the boy along. Sora's eyes tried to sought out Riku's; he was almost desperate to try and get a reassured smile from his boyfriend, but Riku couldn't even look at him. Roxas slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead as Kairi led Sora away. Axel leaned down, groaning into Roxas's shoulder and mumbling under his breath,

"This…is gonna take a while."

**

* * *

**

**But then it started getting worse…**

"Why did you let her kiss you?" Riku waved his hand in the air, tugging at the ends of his silver hair. Sora was visibly discomfited as well as Riku moved even closer, "I thought we agreed on not letting her touch you anymore!"

"Well, you try pushing her away and watching her face fall! And plus, she just ran up to me and did it! I had no idea what she was going to do!"

"Just _push _her away!" Riku said, exasperated, "You're just leading her on by not telling her that you're not interested! I can't do this anymore, Sora. It kills me every second not to be able to hold you, and then I see other…" His face contorted in disgust, "Other people _looking _at you like they want you, when they know nothing! They don't _know _that you're _mine_!"

"Well, I'm _sorry_, Riku!" Sora screamed; he was glad they were in the middle of nowhere, in the park, where no one could hear them, "I'm _sorry _that I've never dated a guy before and I'm _sorry _that I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

"Sora," Riku's voice cracked as his hands rested on Sora's shoulders, "Please. I'm trying to patient. I'm really trying. I just can't stand other people touching you," His jaded eyes moved over to the little boy that was suddenly standing beside them. Sora glanced down as well; when had the boy gotten there?

"Uh…"

"Armand, come back here!"

The five-year-old boy's mother quickly came and dragged the boy along. The boy with black hair kept glancing back at Riku and Sora with the utmost awed expression on his face, "But mommy!" He protested, "That was the boy I was telling you about! He was hugging his twin just like the way you and daddy like to hug!"

Sora's blood froze. That sounded wrong. _So wrong. _That wasn't what happened at all. Well, okay, it happened, but the way the little boy said it, it was like…they were _together_. But they were just friends! And Sora had been cold! Riku caught that as well, and his mouth parted,

"…Roku?"

Sora took a deep breath, "Okay, that's not what happened—"

"You can hug Roku in public but you won't…hug me?" Riku's eyes were filled with hurt, and Sora couldn't help but look away.

"It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it?" Riku frowned, sighing into his hand, "Look, I'm just trying to make this work."

"So am I!"

"Are you?" Riku gazed at him with a questionable stare. Sora looked down, but he was again forced to gaze back into Riku's aquamarine eyes as the other boy lifted his chin, "Sora," The brunet's eyes visibly widened as Riku kissed him. He knew no one was there now; no one was watching. Yet he still pulled away, touching his lips with the tips of his fingers. Riku just stared.

"Sorry," Sora muttered. Riku didn't say anything back. "It's just…we're in public."

"People were there when Kairi kissed you," Riku shot back, "You didn't do anything."

"It's different! I can't just push her away like she's nothing," Sora mumbled numbly. _Yes you can! _The voices inside his head screamed. _You like Riku. Not Kairi. You like him, not her. You can do it…you're just…scared of what people will think of you._

_I'm just scared…_

"Fine. So I'm nothing to you. S'that why you can push me away?" Riku breathed hard through his nose. Sora's jaw dropped.

"N-no!" _That's not what I meant at all! _

"_Fine._" Riku swallowed hard and turned around, starting to walk away. Sora's hands balled inside their pockets, and they jerked involuntarily as he tried to force them to grab onto the back of Riku's jacket. Stop Riku from walking away. Stop…Riku…

But his arms felt heavy, and he couldn't move them. He just watched as Riku walked away. He wanted to do something. Scream out loud. _Please, don't go._

_Riku, don't go. _

_I love you._

**

* * *

**

For three whole days, the two boys didn't talk to each other. Roxas knew that they hadn't broken up, but Sora was looking more depressed as the days went on. They were avoiding each other, and they wouldn't talk. Every time Roxas would bring Riku up, Sora's eyes would start to leak tears and Roxas would have to stop talking about it instantly. Every time Axel tried to bring Sora up with Riku, he got a deadly glare. It wasn't very pleasant.

Sora and Roxas had gotten quite popular, and word had gotten around that Kairi and Sora were dating. Sora would directly go to the people who were spreading the rumors and tell them that it wasn't true, but the word just got around more. Riku seemed to not care anymore, but Roxas knew that he did. Riku's green eyes would always be on the back of Kairi's head every time that redheaded girl passed by him.

Roxas wouldn't be surprised if he found out that Riku was cursing at her inside his head.

But then again, Roxas had his own little problems with…girls. _Ughhh, girls…_ Roxas banged his head on the cafeteria table. Just a class before, he couldn't help but notice that some of the girls in his class were giving him tiny little girly waves and winking at him. As if they couldn't be anymore obvious.

_Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? _

Roxas gave them a glare as he walked out the classroom. Technically, he couldn't tell them to bug off and leave him alone since they weren't doing anything personally. They were just waving and winking…right at the same time that Roxas would look in their direction.

He had bad luck.

Axel noticed these things as well, and Roxas had to admit, Axel was pretty good at keeping himself controlled. At most times, Axel would just yank on the back of shirt while he was talking to another girl or guy and demand what they were talking about. It was a bit tiresome. This whole thing would stop if people just _knew _that they were going out.

Sora and Roxas sat beside each other as Riku and Axel sat at the table next to them. Sora's head was in his arms, and his brown hair was disheveled like he had forgotten to comb it down this morning. Roxas and Axel exchanged pained expressions, but there was nothing they could do. The couple wouldn't even _talk _or _look _at each other. Roxas groaned as he saw Kairi flouncing up from behind again.

This…was getting rather annoying.

"Hello, Sora!"

Sora's eyes were red, like he had just finished crying, "Huh?"

Kairi didn't seem to notice, "A lot of people have been going around and saying that we're going out."

Roxas rolled his eyes, "You just noticed?"

"Are we?" Kairi demanded, a smile on her face. She ignored Roxas and kept her gaze on Sora. The brunet's first instinct was to look over at where Riku was. Their eyes met for a split second before the silver-haired male shrugged. _It's your choice now._

"Look, Kairi…"

"Oh, it's okay if you say that we aren't," Kairi looked mollified, "Or if you're shy, let's keep it quiet like we did in grade seven."

"No, Kairi, that's not it."

Kairi just stared at her best friend expectantly. Roxas just wanted to slam down on the table with his fist and just yell out that Sora was _not _interested in her. But this wasn't for him to do. No, he had to let Sora do this himself. Sora was looking deeply uncomfortable, and Kairi was not helping the matter at all. Perhaps she didn't know what she was doing to him.

"Sora, do you like me or not?" Kairi looked disconcerted, "Just tell me. I won't get mad."

Sora took a deep breath, steadying himself, "I…dunreallylikyou."

Axel and Roxas raised an eyebrow, as did Kairi, "What?"

"I don't…really like you…Kairi."

"Oh," That was it. A single syllable uttered from the girl's mouth. But she looked like she wasn't entirely convinced. Sora continued,

"I like someone else."

Riku's head lifted a little, but their eyes remained averted. There was a big, foolish grin starting to form on Axel's face, and Roxas had to cover his own mouth to keep from smiling.

_C'mon, Sora, you can do it._

"Who do you like?" Kairi asked, eyes wide with curiousity, "I didn't know you paid attention to anyone else. You didn't make it seem obvious."

Sora weakly smiled, "Yeah…well, we kinda kept it a secret."

"But everyone thinks _we're _dating," Kairi twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers.

Sora's eyes brightened and Roxas had a slight feeling that he was going to do something absolutely ridiculous. Like, something that he was going to do without even thinking, "I can fix that."

To everyone's astonishment, Sora suddenly stood up and jumped onto the bench of the cafeteria table. Ignoring the glares that he was receiving from the teachers supervising, he raised his voice, "HEY!"

The cafeteria quieted, and Roxas stared in bewilderment. _Did Sora **know **what he was doing?!_

"KAY, SO, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY! There's some rumor going around the school that—"

"Hey, Sora!"

"Hi, Tidus. Anyway, there's this rumor that's going around the school that me and Kairi are dating," Sora didn't even notice that his voice was starting to shake, or that it was so loud that classrooms beside the cafeteria could probably hear him. But he didn't care, "It's not true."

"We don't care!" One of the seniors from the other side of the room shouted. Sora ignored them, and Riku just kept staring in awe at his boyfriend.

"Well, I just gotta say it out loud, and everyone should know this because I can't hide it anymore! I'm not ashamed of it, and I don't care what other people think! AND I DON'T CARE THAT YOU DON'T CARE!" Sora shouted at the senior who was about to open his mouth again, "I'M DATING RIKU! THAT'S RIGHT, I'M IN TOTAL LIKE WITH RIKU AND I MAY EVEN LOVE HIM FOR ALL I KNOW AND I KNOW I'VE BEEN HIDING IT AND EVERYTHING. BUT NOW I'M COMING OUT WITH THE TRUTH AND…THAT'S…all…I have to…say…and...um, yeah…"

Sora's knees were shaking badly and his face started turning red. _Oh, god, _he thought miserably, _what am I doing? Let me get this straight. I'm standing on a table in the cafeteria. I just proclaimed my love for Riku to everyone and half of them don't even give a damn. And…I just embarrassed myself…a whole lot…_

_Someone save me. _

He felt strong hands gripping from behind and he limply fell backwards into Riku's arms. The boy's breath tickled his ear, "You're crazy."

"Shut up. It's only for you," Sora mumbled feebly, still unable to feel his legs. "I'm sorry."

"My _boyfriend _just stood up on the cafeteria table to say that he loved me. How can I not forgive you?" Riku laughed softly, "I think your 'girlfriend' is mad."

Sora glanced over at Kairi. Her mouth was hanging open with a look of pure disbelief on her face. Sora shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, Kairi."

In a daze, the redhead didn't even say anything. Blinking rapidly, she left the cafeteria without another word, mainly because she had nothing to say. The buzz in the cafeteria started up again. To Sora's pleasant surprise, only a fair few were giving him strange, even disgusted looks, but all in all, no one seemed _too _surprised. A few looked disappointed, which only made Sora giggle uncontrollably.

"SORA! YOU'RE OFFICIALLY MY HERO!" Axel started laughing loudly, "Oh, god. I have to pull that off one day. I've yet to do that. You're insane, Sora, you know that?"

"I've heard," Sora grinned, "Twice," He realized he was still lying lifelessly in Riku's arms like ragdoll and he carefully picked himself up. He matched Riku's height, "Now everyone knows."

"No shit," Riku snickered, but then his eyes softened, "You did that for me?"

"No, I did it for my pet cat," Sora couldn't help but to roll his eyes, "Of course I did it for you. I figured…this was the only way I could fix our relationship."

"It wasn't broken," Riku said, but then he added a hesitant, "Yet."

"Yet," Sora agreed, "It was pretty rocky. I'm glad I fixed it in time."

Riku nuzzled his neck, "Me too."

From the corner of Sora's eyes, he saw a blaze of flaming red, defying-gravity hair. Axel was leaning in dangerously close to them with a sneaky gleam in his eyes. Riku arched an eyebrow, and Axel smirked. In a deep, hushed voice, he whispered, "Kiss."

"Lame," Riku snapped.

"Drama queen," Axel leaned back into his seat as Riku flipped him off, "C'mon, you two. Kiss it up. Make up or something, but don't just stand there and stare at each other. I'm sure Sora's just _dying _to get a taste of you again."

The words sent a deep blush crawling up Sora's neck and into his cheeks. Riku sent him a questioning look, and Sora shrugged, "I don't mind anymore."

Roxas looked away as their lips met. _Give them privacy, give them privacy…_ He thought, even though he was quite aware that half the population of the cafeteria was watching. His arms were by his side, and his hand was on the seat. His fingers felt numb with cold and he allowed a shiver to pass through his body. Axel glanced at him, his almond-shaped eyes scrolling down to Roxas's hand.

He placed his own on top of the blond's, and Roxas shivered again. "You're so cold," Axel murmured.

"Yeah, I know," They silently held hands for a while, then Roxas said, "But my face is really warm. It's like I've got irregular body temperature or something."

To his sudden shock, Axel abruptly placed both his hands on Roxas's cheeks, squishing the boy's face. The blond's hands suddenly flew to his wig as if scared that Axel would suddenly mistakenly pull it off. Roxas glared at him, and Axel threw his head back in a laugh. He lowered his voice to a husky whisper, "God, you're so cute. I just want to kiss the life out of you."

"That's not a good idea, Ax," Roxas mumbled as the redhead started pinching his cheeks. "Stop that. It's embarrassing."

"I'm distracting myself. I don't wanna see Riku and Sora making out."

"Oh, they're still going at it?"

"Yep."

Axel dropped his hands to his side just as Sora pried himself away from Riku. Roxas tore his gaze away from them, feeling slightly jealous. He just wanted someone to hold now, but…

"So when are you planning to let people know we're together?"

Axel's eyes went unfocused for a split second, but then they fell back on Roxas, "Soon."

"When's soon?"

"Getting impatient, love?" Axel smirked. _No, I'd just like people to stop hitting on me. Surely you've noticed that too. _Roxas ignored him, and the redhead just shook his head, "Soon, don't worry."

Roxas took a while to answer, "Kay."

"Love you, Roxas."

The only thing that really went through Roxas's head right at that moment was: _Really? Does he really? Or does he love Rokusasu, because I know for sure that he doesn't love Roxas DeRenzis. Is this really right? Maybe…maybe I should've listened to Demyx. But it's too late now…I think…_

"…Love you too."

**

* * *

**

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP MAKING OUT ON THE COUCH!"

Roxas yelled at the top of his lungs as he walked through the door of Demyx's apartment room after school. Once again, for the second time in just three days, Zexion and Demyx were at it again. Before, he would just walk through the door and take off his wig. But now, he had to check if anyone was in the room before taking it off. It was tiring.

Zexion's excuse was that he was tired of Demyx chasing him all the time and to get the blond off his back, he decided to go out with him. Roxas thought the excuse was rather lame. It was quite obvious that Zexion liked Demyx back. The first time he had seen them making out was when he had come home from school a few days ago and had opened the door without a warning. Zexion had crashed headfirst into it and had fallen backwards; Demyx had failed to leap and catch. The next thing he knew, Demyx was taking care of him and somehow, they ended up tangled up in each other's limbs.

Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, now taking in the scene before him, "Like, honestly. I'm a _teenager_, and you two have more hormones than me."

"Go to your room, Roku," Demyx mumbled, still placing kisses on Zexion's lips, "You didn't see this."

"I'm seeing it plain and clear right now, Dem. You're contaminating my favorite red couch," Roxas covered his eyes and stumbled towards the room, "Please, please, please, someone tell me I'm not really seeing my principal underneath my guardian…and that Demyx isn't really forcing his tongue down Zexion's throat…" He slammed the door, "YOU TWO DISGUST ME. GET A ROOM! I don't need to see this every day after school!"

They ignored him, and Roxas resorted to doing his homework while listening to …

One would get the idea without the need of another explaining anything. Demyx was having a lot of fun, moaning like _that_. But at least his guardian no longer deleted his homework off the computer.

**

* * *

**

Roxas got even more ticked off the next day. He must've dodged and avoided at least three girls today. He didn't remember how he had gotten this popular. Maybe the fact that he was hanging out with Axel now and Axel _was _kinda popular.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Roxas really didn't like this. It was like he was his model self all over again. Every corner that he turned, he was met with another person who wanted to talk to him. He totally blamed all of this on Axel.

So here he was, leaning on the back of his chair and balancing on its hind legs, he propped his elbows on the desk behind him. Ms. Lockheart was telling Axel to prepare his history presentation on Norse Mythology, and Axel was taking his time putting up his Bristol board. The girl beside him, Rikku, glanced around,

"Psst!"

Roxas's chair landed back on four legs and he turned to look at her, "Hm?"

The blonde grinned toothily, waving a hand at him, "What's up?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," He saw Axel eyeing Rikku warily, but Roxas was pretty sure that Rikku was just trying to bring up a normal conversation. There was nothing wrong with her intentions at all, but he supposed from Axel's view, Rikku was trying to hit on him. He couldn't help but smile, "What about you?"

"I don't want to listen to presentations," Rikku let out a fake yawn, "They bore me to death, even if it _is _Axel presenting," She rolled her eyes, giving Roxas a smile, "Wanna play tic-tac-toe?"

Roxas stared at her, "Uhm…"

"Okay, I'll get out a piece of paper!"

Roxas didn't say anything as she reached into her bag. Axel cleared his throat, rolling his eyes skyward as he began his presentation. Roxas was hardly paying attention; Norse Mythology wasn't too interesting in his own opinion. Rikku drew the lines on the piece of paper and scratched an 'x' at the bottom right corner,

"Your turn," She whispered.

Roxas took the pen from her hand, unaware that Axel's voice suddenly became strained. "Norse mythology relates the legends of heroes and kings, as well as supernatural creatures. There are a lot so I'm too lazy to really name them all—"

"Axel!"

"Sorry, miss; did you really want me to list them all? There's gotta be like three billion here…" Axel flipped through his notes and accidentally-on-purpose let them fall out of his hands and onto Rikku's desk, "Oh, sorry."

Rikku sent him a mocking glare, yanking the tic-tac-toe paper from underneath his and placing it on Roxas's desk, "Your turn, Roku."

"Kay."

Axel pouted, picking up his papers. He was a little dismayed that he had failed to attract Roxas's attention, and so he went back to his presentation. Many of the students at the back were already falling asleep, and now the redhead just wanted to get it over with.

"I won!" Rikku gloated quietly. Ms. Lockheart was too engrossed in Axel's 'captivating' monotone speech to pay attention to Roxas and Rikku. Roxas pouted,

"You cheated."

"Did not!" Rikku gave Roxas a playful slap on the arm. Axel crushed the piece of paper in his hand and he took a deep breath, continuing where he left off, voice noticeably more strained,

"So, then after that, the story of Ragnarök goes on as…Miss, this is really boring. Do I really have to continue this?"

"If you want to pass this course, yes." Axel's groan followed that proclamation.

"New game," Rikku whispered. Roxas shrugged, nodding. She drew a new board, drawing a circle in the center. Roxas smirked, taking the pen from her hand. Their fingers touched briefly and Axel's voice grew louder,

"…the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in FIRE. LIKE BURNING THINGS. I ESPECIALLY LIKE TO BURN GIRLS WITH BLONDE HAIR AND GREEN EYES—"

"Axel! Is this part of your presentation?" Ms. Lockheart looked appalled whereas Rikku merely looked offended.

Axel's eyes dropped meekly, "No…" He continued on. Roxas was a little bemused, but he drew an 'x' at another corner. Rikku won a second time and she giggled again. Roxas rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair again. Axel gritted his teeth.

"…And that's why…in Norse Mythology…there were nine worlds…" He placed his hand on Rikku's desk, his eyes on Roxas, "And there's one last thing before I wrap up my wonderful, enchanting presentation."

Axel's eyes were bright with determination, and Ms. Lockheart raised an eyebrow tentatively, "What's that?"

"Something called jealousy playing its role," Axel gripped Roxas's shirt and the 'brunet' suddenly found himself being pulled forward in a soft kiss. Axel ignored Rikku's loud gasp and the smack on his arm and the hissed whispers of 'what the fuck?' all around the room. Roxas was yanked out of his seat and somehow, with a lot of confusion and a spin of the room, Roxas was lying down on the desk.

_How did that happen? _

He could feel Axel's strong hands on his shoulders, and for a short second, Axel darted his tongue in and out. The redhead broke the kiss and Roxas gazed through half-lidded eyes to see him glaring at Rikku, "Roxas is my boyfriend," He managed to keep his voice low, "He's _mine_ and you better all get it fucking memorized."

Rikku pretended to be heartbroken. She fell dramatically onto her desk, her hands over her heart, "Noooooo, Roku! You're gay too?!"

"Gay for me," Axel stated proudly.

"You're stingy, Ax," Rikku pouted, "I was just playing tic-tac-toe with him."

"Yeah, well," Axel hugged Roxas around the middle, giving everyone in the room a warning glare, "Tell the rest of your friends to back off because I'm quite the possessive one," He swooped down to steal another kiss from Roxas's pink lips, earning a few groans from his classmates. Roxas just noticed that they were paying more attention to this than Axel's presentation. He didn't blame them; this was a _lot _more interesting.

But he didn't care. He was happy. Axel was now officially, and now publicly announced, his boyfriend. But this would only make problems arise…wouldn't it? And news in this school spread pretty fast…

**

* * *

**

That night, Roxas had gotten a rather unexpected surprise. And it wasn't the kind of surprise one would be happy about. Sephiroth had called. Roxas stared at the call display on the cell phone as it rang once. Demyx wasn't home; he was stalking Zexion. Roxas tossed it into the air as it rang twice, his blood running cold.

What did Sephiroth want? Roxas really didn't want to answer this. He knew he had another model shoot tomorrow, so maybe Sephiroth was just asking to check up.

The phone rang a third time. Roxas sighed and flipped his cell phone open, running his hand through his blond hair; it felt good to be out of the wig, "Hello?"

"Roxas."

Not even a 'hi' or a 'hello'. Just his name. Roxas frowned, his voice brittle, "Yes?"

He heard his uncle take a deep breath. It wasn't exactly in Sephiroth's character to be nice to him, so he knew that even if the conversation started friendly, it would probably end up in a fight. "How…are you?"

"I'm good."

"I saw your photo shoot from last month."

"Well, you sound disappointed," Roxas leaned back on the couch, propping his feet up, "Did I do something wrong? Something not sexy enough for the magazine? Was it not slutty enough?"

"That's not funny, Roxas DeRenzis," Sephiroth snapped. His voice sounded less harsh on the phone, but Roxas knew he was already starting to get mad. "Don't give me sass. Your photographer called me and told me you were distracted during this."

Roxas thought back. _When was that shoot? At the mall? Was that when Axel was there? _Roxas didn't say anything for a while. Sephiroth snapped, "Well?"

"Yeah, I was…distracted," Roxas rolled his eyes; it wasn't like his uncle could see him anyway. If he had rolled his eyes in his presence, he would have gotten a smack on the head. "I'll do better tomorrow."

"Don't disappoint me, Roxas," The blond had heard this phrase so many times, he had lost count. He nodded, but then he realized that Sephiroth couldn't see him nodding,

"Yessir."

"Are you at the hotel?"

"Yes," Roxas said a little too quickly. Sephiroth didn't seem to notice.

"When you see Demyx tomorrow at the photo shoot, tell him to call me. I need to talk to him."

_About what? _Roxas resisted the urge to say that. Instead, he muttered, "Okay," Then another thought struck him, "…Are you coming back any time soon?" _Not that I really want you to come back…_

"We'll see. It depends on the number of meetings I still have. Why?" Sephiroth's voice sounded testy.

"Nothing. I was just wondering."

Sephiroth let out a disgruntled grunt, "Behave, Roxas. I don't want to come back just to be disappointed again," He heard his uncle say something inaudible, then: "I have to go now."

"Bye," Roxas hung up without another word, slightly pissed. _Disappointed. Don't disappoint me, Roxas. _Those were his uncle's favorite words. Roxas was tired of hearing them. Was he going to live his life just so he could disappoint Sephiroth?

"Too bad," He muttered darkly to no one in particular, "Too late now. I've broken every goddamn rule you came up with in the past few years I've been living with you. You want me to do this, you want me to do that. You won't approve of Axel anyway, but I don't care. I'm not giving him up that easily. I'm never going to give him up." He glared at the red couch that reminded him oh-so much of Axel's flaming hair.

"It's time I thought about my own wants."

* * *

**His Last Walk: **SEE WHAT I DID? LOLOLOLASDKJSHADJ. I iz hyper.

That's it for this chapter. xD I hope you enjoyed it. It actually didn't take too long to write. O: Ehm, I'll be sure to add moar drama in it. Since it _is _a drama fic, in a way. I'm never really good at that, but you know, add in a bit of jealousy and whatnot, BAM, there's your drama. xD I'll do my best not to make it overly dramatic, but now that you kinda have an idea of Seph/Roxas's rocky (I was about to type roxy) relationship, I hope that it adds a bit...more? o-o LOL. Kay, I'm out~ Thanks for reading ! More stuff to happen in the next chapter. Hopefully to move the story onward. x-x

_Update might be slow, but it'll go faster once the 'ex-miss' break starts. :D_


	14. XIV

**Summary****:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Angst again. Well, random OC's are random. LOL. I needed someone to be a hoar. Also, Sephiroth's a bish. That's it. So yeah, language and hoars. More drama.

**Pairings:** AkuRoku main, SoRiku, Zemyx.

**His Last Walk:** Hi~ :D CHRISTMAS BREAK, HERE I COME. THAANK GAWD. Ahh, finally, I can relax. x-x And just for fun, listen to~ _Merry Frickin' Christmas - Relient K._ That song makes me smile.

* * *

**XIV**

Roxas should have seen this coming. The awkward stares he received in the hallways, the hushes whispers when he walked into classrooms…he should have seen _all of these _coming. But he had some sort of hope that maybe he wouldn't attract too much attention. That was what he was aiming for when he came to this school.

Being Axel's boyfriend was the exact opposite of that. All attention; everyone noticed him now. Maybe it was because Axel's fiery crimson hair blared an alarm out to everyone saying: HEY, LOOK AT ME. And then they'd see Roxas, and the message would elaborate to: HEY, LOOK AT ME AND ROXAS, MY SUPER CUTE BOYFRIEND.

After school, Axel had gone up to Roxas after snapping at a few people who were staring, "Are you busy right now?"

Roxas glanced down at the books in his arms, "I'm putting my things away."

Axel waved that away unimportantly, "I meant are you busy right after school? It's a special day today."

"It is?" Roxas's eyes rolled up as he tried to recall what day it was. It was near the middle of November; no, there was no snow. It was actually pretty warm for a fall day. The sun was shining, but Roxas knew that was going to end soon. The weather forecast had said that it was going to snow any time soon. Global warming had some weird effect. Today was sunny; the next day will be snowing.

He couldn't think of anything in the end, "What's today?"

Axel grinned happily, "My birthday."

_WHAT?! _Roxas's eyes widened until they couldn't anymore and his jaw dropped, "Y-Your…birthday…? Today…?" _CRAP! Did he say something to me before? Did I forget? Today's his birthday?! What?! Was I so caught up with my own life that I forgot about his birthday?_

Axel laughed at Roxas's shocked face, "Hey, don't worry about it, love. I never told you my birthday, and you never asked, so it's okay," As Roxas continued to stutter non-coherent words, Axel made a move to pat his head, but Roxas moved out of the way in time. To cover up his blunder, Roxas pouted,

"Why did you ever tell me? I could have gotten you something!"

Axel ran his long fingers through his unkempt, vermilion hair, "You don't need to get me anything," Just as Roxas was about to protest, the redhead placed a finger on Roxas's lips, "All you have to do is come to the beach tonight. My party every year is the same with my friends."

"Beach?" Roxas stared at him. "Isn't it November? You still want to go to the beach?"

Axel nodded, "Yep. It's not cold or anything. Come on, Roxas. You'll like it, I promise," Axel reddened slightly, "Okay, well, _I _really like it, but I'd _love _it if you could come as well."

Roxas thought it over, and then he frowned, "I have to go somewhere." _Stupid model shoot. _As soon as Axel's face fell, he retaliated, "Well, I might be able to come later. What time?"

"Anytime," Axel paused, "Anytime before seven. You don't want to miss the sunset, cause that's the best part."

_Sunset watching? _Roxas wondered. He nodded, "I'll be there. I'll get Demyx to drive me and I'll try to make it on time," _Depending on how long the photo shoot is, _"No guarantees though."

"As long as you come, I don't mind," Axel smirked, his fingers playing with the tie around Roxas's neck, "I'll see you then," Yanking quickly at the tie, he brought their lips together in a soft kiss. Roxas had barely gotten into it when Axel pulled away, eliciting a groan of frustration from the blond. "Bye, Roxas."

Roxas watched as Axel flounced away to catch his bus. _His birthday…I wonder what he has planned…_

* * *

"Sephiroth was looking for you yesterday," Roxas told Demyx. The older blond's lips formed a frown,

"What did he want?"

"I don't know," Roxas pulled off his wig as soon as they were out of the school's view. He rubbed his scalp, sighing in happiness. "He told me to tell you to call him. I didn't ask him what for."

"He doesn't know anything, does he?" Demyx asked anxiously.

Roxas bit down on his bottom lip, "I hope not. I don't _think _so. I've been pretty good with hiding everything so far, except I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me _when _Zexion is over so that I don't end up revealing myself."

Demyx just grinned. When he didn't stop grinning, Roxas snapped, "What are you smiling at?"

"You're dating Axel now, aren't you?"

"Huh, somehow you found out too."

"You know what I noticed?" Roxas shook his head. As Demyx parked the car, he turned to Roxas with a knowing smile and ruffled his hair, "You haven't been having nightmares in a while, even when Sephiroth called you yesterday. You had a pretty soundless sleep."

"Really now?" Roxas hadn't thought about it at all, but now that he tried thinking back, the last time that he had had a nightmare was Halloween. He slid down his seat a little in embarrassment. Demyx smirked,

"Really," He took the keys out of the car, "Axel must be really good for you."

"He is," Roxas grinned widely, "Speaking of Axel, today's his birthday," Demyx waited for Roxas to continue his sentence. The blond scratched his head, "He wants me to go to the beach later. Can you drive me there?"

Demyx shrugged, "Alright. It's no problem. I'll have to drive fast though. I've got a date with my sexy Zexy."

Roxas made a face, "Nicknames already? No, don't answer that. Yes, drive me there."

"If he's planning on swimming, you know you can't. That wig can't get wet, and plus, unless you want him to find out about _that scar_…"

"I don't," Roxas said quickly, "Not on his birthday, anyway," He slowly got out of the car and before closing the door, he said, "No one needs to see that hideous thing anyway," He slammed the door shut.

* * *

"I can't _walk _in this," Roxas complained to the photographer when he was told to hurry up. His jeans were too tight, and he could barely take miniature steps in them, "This isn't even my _size._"

"Don't care," The female photographer snipped, snapping her fingers and pointing behind her, "Come on. We haven't got all day. Get your butt over here."

Roxas grumbled a few insults under his breath, but the photographer heeded him no attention. Demyx was by the side, smiling away at his phone. He was probably texting. Roxas rolled his eyes as he stepped in front of the white background,

"Demyx, did you call?"

"Call who?" Demyx seemed to have forgotten already.

"…Call my uncle?"

Realization dawned on the blond's blue eyes, and he gasped, "Oh, yeah!" He started dialing quickly, leaving the room to have Roxas model in peace. The younger boy turned to the photographer, who had crossed her arms impatiently. Roxas had gotten her twice already, and he didn't like her one bit,

"How would you like me to pose?"

He vaguely remembered Axel saying this on the first day of school and he fought hard not to blush. Marluxia would have responded with a seductive: _Anything you like, Roxas._

"You'll be working with a girl today."

"Huh. Kay."

As Roxas turned around to see who he was working with, his eyes nearly bulged and he quickly whipped around. Slowly, he swiveled around to make sure that the girl was actually _wearing _clothes. She was, but barely. He turned back to the photographer, whispering, "Why is she in a bikini?" Then another thought struck him, and he asked it before the photographer could answer, "Why am _I _in jeans and she's almost naked?!"

"It's just the orders I was given," The photographer shrugged, "You don't have to do anything. Just stand there and pretend that you're getting aroused."

_WHAT?! _

Roxas weakly pushed the girl away from him just as her hands started to wander all over the place, "Can't we just, you know, stand beside each other and smile or something?"

The photographer gave him a strange look, and Roxas blushed, "Never mind. Okay," _Roxas, just act professional. If you mess this one up, Sephiroth will come back and beat the crap out of you. _Roxas took a deep breath, "Okay. Let's do this."

It was awkward, having to put his hands on another girl's body, especially since it wasn't Axel. Nice curves, beautiful face; this was a girl that any guy would fall for. But Roxas could only think of Axel…and how much he wanted _out _of this room right now. He leaned back against the wall as he was told to.

"Now Jacy, slide your hands down Roxas's pants, just a little."

"Wait, wha—" Roxas shut his mouth, squirming a little as the girl's cold, slender fingers met with his skin. Nothing like Axel's, and it made him uncomfortable.

"Roxas, reach your arm around and look like you want a piece of that ass," There was a obnoxious giggle-snort and Roxas reddened,

"What?"

"Do it."

Groaning inwardly, he snaked his hand around and, knowing what the photographer wanted, he slid his thumb under the string of the girl's bikini bottom. He rolled his eyes up. _Awkward…_

The female model gave a throaty chuckle, noticing his discomfort. She pressed closer, breathing against his cheek. Roxas wanted nothing more than to disappear into the white background. It could work, with his pale complexion and all. The photographer raised his camera.

"You two may either close your eyes, kiss, whatever. I do not care as long as you make this a seeexy shoot."

"What exactly are we advertising?" Roxas asked weakly. He could already hear Axel's words on Roxas DeRenzis. _Slut…slut…slut…_

"Perfume."

"Again? But I'm not wearing any."

"Who cares?" The photographer smirked, raising the camera, "Ready or not?"

Roxas tilted his head to the side a little as he felt Jacy's mouth at the corner of his lips. The girl must have been around Axel's age or older. Roxas wouldn't be surprised if the photo turned out looking like a little boy about to get raped, because this was how he was feeling at the moment. He could faintly feel her sharp, manicured nails digging into his lower abdomen and he closed his eyes, wincing.

He sensed the white, blinding flash through his eyelids and he blinked his eyes open.

"Great," The photographer said, "Wow. I only needed to take one for this one. Okay, change pose!"

For the next hour and a half, Roxas had to do the strangest poses. One was lying on his back with the girl straddling him. She was having the time of her life, while he just wanted to get this over with and go to Axel's party. As he let his hand absentmindedly caress the girl's cheek, he wondered what Axel could be doing right now.

"Okay, done! That's it for the day!"

_Thank God…_ Roxas thought wearily. He tried sitting up, as he was still lying on his back, but the girl wouldn't get off him. He narrowed his eyes, "We're done."

Jacy smirked, "I know," She let her two fingers walk across Roxas's chest, but he felt nothing towards it. It kinda tickled though. He continued to glare at her, and she leaned down seductively, "You know what my friends call me?"

Roxas made a face, "What?"

"Storm," Her smirk widened, "Because I'm really rough. Wanna try me?"

"Okay! I'm leaving!" Roxas tried sitting up once more, but Jacy just pushed him back down. She was wearing red lipstick, he noticed. She kissed him. And that last for what seemed like _hours. _Roxas tried to be unresponsive, but it was hard when she kept digging her nails into his flesh and when he gasped, she just started ravishing his mouth. He mumbled something in protest, but she just kept going…until—

"Roxas, we're leaving! C'mon! Stop making out over there!" Demyx called out and Jacy instantly rolled off Roxas. The blond boy was just staring at the ceiling, unable to comprehend what really just happened. Was a kiss forced on him? He licked his lips. _EWWWW. _

He scrambled up onto his feet and dashed towards Demyx without another glance back at the girl. But because his jeans were so tight, he ended up falling at Demyx's feet. His guardian sighed, picking him up and righting him up. Roxas stammered as he was dragged into the change room, "It wasn't my fault! She forced it on me a-and – don't tell Axel!"

"How can I tell Axel?" Demyx looked bemused as he picked up a pair of plaid, knee-length shorts for Roxas, "He doesn't even know you're a model."

"Oh, yeah…What did Sephiroth want with you?"

"Nothing. Business." Was all Demyx would say. Roxas decided to leave it at that. Demyx never lied to him before.

His guardian reluctantly turned around as Roxas yanked off his super tight jeans and pulled on the pair of shorts, which was much more comfortable. He sighed in relief as he pulled on a black button-up shirt over his head. Sliding a jacket on as well, the two of them left the studio. Roxas made sure that he avoided eye-contact with the other model. Roxas made a mental note never to have another photo shoot with her again.

As Demyx drove, he glanced over at Roxas and grazed the back of his hand on his lips. Roxas stared, "Huh?"

"Your lips. Ya got lipstick on 'em."

"Oh. Ew," Roxas wiped his mouth with his sleeve. When he pulled his sleeve away, red stains tainted the black fabric. He wiped it on the car seat.

"HEY!" Demyx shouted reproachfully, snapping his head at Roxas.

"Watch the road!" Roxas yelped, "I'll clean it! Calm your pants down!" As he scrubbed it with his sleeve again, careful not to smudge it, he grumbled, "It's not like you and Zexion will be doing anything clean in this car anyway."

Demyx decided to ignore that.

As they reached the beach, Roxas could already see Axel's vibrant, seeking-for-attention red hair. Axel had immediately spotted the car and he waved, starting to walk towards them. He had changed out of his school uniform and Roxas could see the words on his dark t-shirt: Escape the Fate.

Roxas grinned happily, waving back, and Demyx parked the car. "Well, there you go," He turned to Roxas, "Have fun—" His sentence stopped midway, and Roxas raised an eyebrow,

"What?"

"Crap!" Demyx pulled Roxas into the passenger seat and pointed at him hurriedly, "Find your wig. Your blond hair – wig! Now!"

"Oh, shi—" Roxas scrambled about in the back of the car, trying to find that brown clump of hair. _WHERE DID I PUT IT?! _Axel was walking closer and closer, but there was a bewildered expression on his face. Roxas ducked behind the seat, out of view. "Check the seat, Demyx. Hurry!"

"Uhm…" Demyx groped around and checked underneath, "Can't find it! Ahh! Your boyfriend is coming closer!"

"Stop that!" Roxas shouted hysterically, "Stop panicking and find that stupid wig!"

"You're telling _me _to stop panicking?!" All Roxas could hear was loud shuffling, and then, "Here!" The brown clump of hair collided into Roxas's face and the blond coughed. He hastily capped it on his head, stuffing the blond tufts of hair underneath. He glanced around to see Axel peeking through the window where Demyx was, and his guardian was doing his best to lean back, covering Roxas from view,

"Hello. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Axel grinned, "Where's Roxas? I swear I saw him a second ago."

"Here," Roxas adjusted the wig and stood up. Bad idea. His head hit the ceiling of the car and he fell back onto the seat, "Ow."

"Hi," As Axel walked around to open the door, Demyx coughed inconspicuously into his hand, rubbing the back of his head. Roxas felt the back of his neck and felt his own hair sticking out. He hurriedly tucked that in as well just as Axel opened the door, "You gonna come out?"

"Yep," Roxas grabbed his cell phone and stuffed it into his jacket pocket before taking Axel's hand and hauling himself out of the car, "Thanks, Demyx."

"Have fun. I know I will," Demyx sang as he drove away. Roxas rolled his eyes as Axel arched an eyebrow,

"He's going out with Zexion, isn't he?"

"Good guess," Roxas tugged at the ends of his shirt nervously as he gazed over at the dock. He could already see Marluxia's pink hair in the sun, which was just dipping a little beyond the horizon. "I couldn't get a gift for you, so…the only thing I can really give you right now is this."

Roxas got up onto his tippy-toes and planted a kiss on Axel's lips. He felt his boyfriend smiling into the kiss and those strong arms pulling him closer, "I like that gift," Axel whispered huskily, leaning down to kiss him again. Roxas hoped that all of that disgusting lipstick was off now.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Roxas grinned, pulling away. Axel pointed at the lake,

"You came just in time. We were just about to—" His eyes widened and he snapped his head back around. Roxas jumped as Axel shouted, "RIKU, DAMMIT. DON'T TOUCH THAT! I'M SUPPOSED TO LIGHT IT, NOT YOU!" He turned back to Roxas, "Sorry. Come on. You'll see it. You'll like it too, I hope. Cause I really like it…"

Holding tightly onto Roxas's hand, he dragged the 'brunet' along. Roxas kept his eyes on Axel's black swim trunks, which were chaotically decorated with red, orange, and yellow flames. It suited him perfectly. Sora was sitting on the dock, his feet dipping into the water as Riku swam out near the shallow end, hauling a raft along with him. On the raft, there was something else, but Roxas couldn't make out what it was.

"What's that?" Roxas asked.

"Human sacrifice," Axel responded immediately, a sinister grin on his face. Roxas's eyes widened,

"No, really."

"You'll see," Axel smoothed out the sand with his shoe before taking his black and white Converse shoes off. "Marluxia, pass me my lighter!" As the pink-haired teenager threw something red and silver towards Axel, Roxas frowned. Axel caught it, and he grinned, "Don't worry. I'm not smoking."

Then he proceeded to take off his shirt.

Roxas. Could. Not. Stop. Staring. Axel's godly, half-naked body was nothing short of amazing. Okay, so maybe Roxas was exaggerating, but the boy couldn't help but admire the muscles along the redhead's body. Watching them ripple on Axel's back made Roxas feel a little bit ashamed. If only he didn't have that scar…

"I'm gonna go in for a swim," Axel tossed his shirt at Roxas, "Hold it for me?"

"Sure," Roxas held the warm piece of clothing close to his chest, breathing in the scent of his boyfriend. Oh, how he loved that smell, "A swim?"

"Not like I want to, but it's the only way I can light the fire," Axel started running towards the lake. Roxas smiled; so Axel was going to light a fire. Typical of him. Sora dodged around Riku as the silver-haired male tried to splash him and sat down beside Roxas,

"Aren't you going to swim later?"

Roxas shook his head, "I don't know how to swim," He lied. He knew how to swim perfectly well, but because he wasn't allowed in the water anyway, there was no point.

"Oh," Sora said, "Well, you can always just sit on the dock and dip your feet into the water."

Roxas nodded in agreement, not answering. His blue eyes were too transfixed on Axel as the boy waddled out to the middle of the lake. Axel was holding the lighter above his head, carefully walking so that he wouldn't get it wet. Marluxia and Larxene had set themselves beside Roxas; he noticed that the girl wasn't wearing a bikini either. That was good. He had enough of bikinis for one day.

"OKAY, READY?!" Axel shouted at the top of his lungs.

No one responded. Roxas almost burst out into laughter. He felt a little embarrassed on Axel's behalf. The redhead scowled, "DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT IT. Ah, fuck this. I'm lighting it."

Flicking the lighter on, Axel brought his hand down onto the wood, which was already half-soaked in gasoline. He didn't care if he burned himself by accident. It was unlikely anyway; he had done this way too many times. He turned his head towards the sunset; it was nearly gone now, and soon it'll be all dark.

Perfect.

The fire caught on right away, and Axel jerked his hand back just as the flames erupted above the raft. Axel whooped and turned back to his audience with a bright grin on his face.

Roxas had to smile too.

Riku jumped into the water and tackled Axel down, dragging the redhead under the water. The two of them emerged, drenched and laughing. Sora gave Roxas an apologetic smile before joining them. It was then that Roxas started feeling a little left out. Standing up and brushing the sand away from his shorts, he kicked off his shoes, dropped his jacket onto the sand, and started for the dock. Axel shook his head, letting the droplets of water from his hair hit Roxas.

Roxas laughed, "Enjoying yourself?"

"It'd be better if you were in here too."

Roxas shook his head, blushing, "Can't swim," He plopped himself down on the wooden dock and let his toes dip into the cold lake water. He shivered, feeling a little refreshed even though only his feet were wet. Axel swam towards him, his crimson hair darker as it was damp from the water,

"I'll hold you."

"Noo, Axel, really. I don't want to. It's okay," Roxas shrunk backwards as Axel's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Nonono, Axel, really, I don't wanna go in – AXEEEL!" Roxas clung onto the boards of the dock as Axel pulled at his feet. Panic clutched at his heart, and he cried out, "Axel, seriously! I don't know how to swim!"

"Hey, Roxy, don't worry. I'll hold onto you. I won't even let your head go under the water, okay?" He tugged again, and Roxas's hands started to slip. His shorts were now in the water and he screamed from the cold. Shivering slightly, he looked back at Axel,

"Promise?"

"Promise."

_I guess it'll be okay, then, _Roxas thought as he slowly let go of the dock. He felt Axel's sturdy arms wrap themselves around his legs and though the water was cold and it made everything slippery, Axel didn't let go. Roxas clutched Axel's wet hair as Axel set him down a little. Almost automatically, Roxas wrapped his legs around Axel's skinny waist. The redhead smirked.

"Hey, cutie."

Roxas blushed; he was glad that it was dark, but he was pretty sure that Axel could see him. The fire's light was pretty bright, "It's c-cold," He shuddered.

"It'll get warmer," Axel chuckled, "I'll warm you up by other means if I have to."

Roxas slapped Axel's shoulder in playful reproach, "Calm your hormones."

"It's my birthday, Roxy~!"

Roxas shook his head at the nickname, "So? That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want," He felt Axel walking closer to the beach; the water was getting shallower. He wriggled a little, "I can stand now."

"I don't wanna let you go," Axel nuzzled Roxas's neck, causing the boy to giggle. "God, you're so cute," Axel's wet lips brushed against Roxas's and Roxas nearly melted into the kiss. Axel really did know how to kiss someone.

"Ax-IEEE!" Roxas jumped out of Axel's arms and, thankfully, landed on his feet on the shallow end. Marluxia doubled over in laughter; he had poked Roxas's sides. The 'brunet' glared at him,

"What the heck was that for?!"

Axel didn't seem amused either, and Marluxia stopped laughing, backing up. His eyes had a smirk to them, and he pointed at Roxas, "Hey, he just called you Axie. Aren't you gonna get him for that?"

"I did _not_," Roxas retorted, "You _made _me."

Unfortunately, Axel caught on as well, "That's right," Axel brushed his wet hair out of his face, a mockingly feral grin spreading on his face as he turned to face his boyfriend, "You did, Roxy. I'm gonna have to punish you for that," He lowered his voice, almost threateningly. Roxas gulped, a weak smile pulling at his lips,

"What?"

Axel made a grab for Roxas, but the other dodged around him and started running up the beach, laughing. Roxas kept his hand on his wig as he made a mad dash towards the change room. It was actually hard running in wet clothes, and his shorts were sticking uncomfortably to his legs. As stepped in, he took a quick glance around and was grateful that this change room wasn't as dirty as the ones that he had seen before at beaches. He was so busy checking to see if there were any nasty bugs around that he didn't even heard Axel come in through the door,

"Gotcha!"

Roxas yelped in surprise as he was grabbed around the middle. The door clicked shut. Roxas continued to struggle, but it was futile. Axel was too strong, "Nngh, Axel! Lemme go!"

Axel just pressed him closer. He leaned in near Roxas's ear and breathed hotly, "No."

Roxas felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine and he was suddenly whirled around to face Axel. He was pushed against the wall and the redhead then proceeded to attack Roxas's throat. That jolt of pleasure came all too sudden, and he moaned softly. His breath hitched in his throat as Axel licked the shell of Roxas's ear, trailing kisses across the boy's face until he reached his lips.

Roxas relaxed his jaw, parting his lips slightly to allow Axel entrance. Axel hummed happily as he brushed his tongue dominantly over Roxas's. Pulling apart, he nipped experimentally at Roxas's neck. As he bit down a little bit harder, Roxas squirmed, "Ouch."

Axel snickered under his breath, "Okay, you don't like that," Flitting his tongue over that spot, he effectively earned a soft groan from Roxas, "But you like that."

"Like it…a lot…" Roxas panted, his fingers working clumsily at the buttons of his shirt, "Don't like wet clothes," He mumbled.

"Let's take those off then," Axel smirked seductively. Lithe fingers worked skillfully at the black buttons of Roxas's shirt. Soon, he impatiently tugged the hindrance of clothing off Roxas's shoulders and his hands roamed all over his chest. Roxas arched at the touch,

"Ax-el…"

In his aroused state, Roxas couldn't think properly. All he could get through was how good Axel's hands were making him feel, and how his tongue seemed to work magic on the sensitive parts of his body. Roxas's hands were buried into Axel's drenched hair as the redhead traveled down Roxas's torso with his lips, the creases in Roxas's chest guiding him. Roxas sighed as Axel breathed,

"This is the first time I've seen you like this."

_That's right, _Roxas thought hazily. This was the first time Axel had touched him like this, seen his body like _this. _But Roxas _wanted more…_ He brought Axel back up and forced their lips together.

Grinding his hips against Axel's involuntarily, he felt the redhead's skinny frame shudder in pleasure, his hands on either side of Roxas's hips. "G-god…Roxas…" He wrapped his arms around Roxas's body.

His fingers felt the flawless skin on Roxas's back, pressing in every so often, earning light shivers from Roxas. Then all of a sudden, Axel stopped. Roxas froze and the heat that he was just experiencing disappeared in a split second. That moment of arousal was all gone. Axel's hand brushed against the scar again,

"What's this?"

Before Roxas could say anything, Axel flipped him over so that Roxas was now facing the wall. Roxas was too in shock to do anything to stop him, and he heard Axel's sharp intake of breath, "Oh, god. Oh…fuck, Roxas, what happened?"

Roxas spun back around, his hands behind his back as if doing that would prevent Axel from remembering what it looked like. Near-faded, roped, _ugly…_ that _thing _on his back was the only thing that he hated about his body. He swallowed hard, "Nothing."

Axel's eyes were wide, like he had never seen such a thing before. He parted his lips, but Roxas interrupted, his voice shaking, "You weren't supposed to know."

Axel's emerald eyes narrowed, "What do you mean 'I wasn't supposed to know'?" He started to reach for him, "Roxas…"

Roxas slapped his hand away without thinking. _It's just the scar! _Roxas screamed at himself. _He doesn't know anything else! Nothing else! So why does it feel like the world's falling apart already? It's because I let one secret out of my life. Oh, god… he wasn't supposed to know about **this!**_

A dry sob wracked Roxas's entire body as he started to shuffle towards the door. Axel looked confused, "Roxas, wait, I—"

"You weren't supposed to know," Roxas whispered, "Not supposed to. Not today."

"But, Roxas, what— I don't understand. I don't know anything! Tell me, Roxas."

"No!" Roxas shook his head frantically. _I'm dirty! I can't. I can't… _"You can't know. Please, Axel. You can't…"

"Roxas, I want to understand… Wait, Roxas!" Axel made another grab for Roxas but the boy ducked down and picked up his shirt. As he darted out the door, he pulled it back on. Sprinting towards the beach, he grabbed his jacket and started running in the opposite direction, ignoring Sora and Axel's cries to stop. He just kept running.

He kept going until he tripped. It was so dark that he couldn't see a thing, and he ended up sprawling onto his face. Coughing out sand, he flipped onto his back and patted his head, making sure the wig was still on. It had shifted slightly, and Roxas fixed it with a blank expression. His hand flew to his mouth, "What did I…just do…?"

_I just ran away from Axel. _

Tears welled up in his eyes as he sat on the ground, his jacket on his lap. His back felt numb and his hands clenched tightly at the jacket. He felt something vibrating within the jacket; his cell phone. Fumbling for it, the light from the phone blinded him. His heart fell.

**Sephiroth. **

_Not now…I don't want to answer this, _Roxas felt he tears sliding down his face. This was the worst time to call. He didn't even know why he was crying, but all he knew was that he needed to stop. Sephiroth never liked it when he cried. Sniffling pathetically, he wiped his eyes with his wet sleeve. It hurt. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he answered it,

"Hello?" Roxas's voice cracked.

"Roxas, I need you to go into that drawer in your room and see if there's a black binder in there."

"W-what?" Roxas didn't remember the black binder. Hell, he probably left it at the hotel. Sephiroth's voice became impatient,

"Black binder, Roxas. Get it now."

"I'm not at h-home right n-now," Roxas bit down on his lip, apprehensive to his uncle's response. Sephiroth exhaled,

"What? Not at home? Where the fuck are you, Roxas?"

"Just out," _At a party…and…I just ran away from my boyfriend for the stupidest reason. It just **feels **like the world's falling apart, even though I know it's not. I'm just so confused… Please, I need to hang up before I break down. _"I—"

"Why are you out?" Sephiroth snapped, "You're not supposed to be out."

"I-I'm sorry, I had to g-go somewhere—" Roxas started to stammer.

"Roxas, I don't care if you broke your leg and you had to go to the hospital. Mainly because that will never happen. Don't tell me you're out with people I don't know."

"I-I'm not…"

"Don't _lie _to me, Roxas," Roxas let out a particularly loud sniffle by accident and Sephiroth's voice crackled from the other line, "Roxas, are you crying?"

That just set the tears off. His voice went a little high-pitched, "N-no! I'm not crying!"

"Roxas DeRenzis, I said **_DON'T LIE_**_!_" Sephiroth roared from the other line, causing Roxas to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from emitting a frightened whimper, "The weak cry, Roxas. Now, stop crying. It's _pathetic_."

"Roxas?"

The boy turned around in terror and saw Axel's silhouette; the boy had put on a t-shirt. Roxas could recognize that hair from anywhere. His heart beat wildly and his hand shook. Robotically, he muttered into the phone, "I-I'll call you back later."

"Roxas, don't you dare hang up on—" Roxas closed the phone.

Somehow, crying a little made him feel slightly calmer. He faced Axel, who had sauntered over to him. He knelt down in front of Roxas, wiping the tears from his cheeks with his thumb, "Roxas…Roxas, why are you crying?" That gentle voice was so much different from Sephiroth's demanding one, and that just made Roxas sob even harder. Axel felt a pang of guilt, "Sorry."

"It's not your fault…" Roxas tried wiping the tears away again. "_I _should be the sorry one."

"It's fine," Axel shuffled over to his side and wrapped his arm around his shoulder comfortingly, if not a little awkwardly. He had never been really good with comforting people, so he was a little stiff with his actions. He dropped his arm behind Roxas, but before he could say anything else, Roxas buried his nose into Axel's shirt. His whole body shook as he cried silently.

Axel let him cry; he could already feel the warm droplets of water on his shirt, but he paid them no attention. As soon as Roxas quieted, he cleared his throat,

"What happened?"

Roxas shook his head, his face still buried in Axel's shirt. As the redhead raised his hand to stroke Roxas's hair, the boy pulled back alarmingly. He hiccupped, stifling another sob. Axel brushed the tears away again, "You look terrified."

"I'm sorry."

"What's there to be sorry about?" Axel asked, exasperated, "All I did was see that scar on your back, but considering the way you're acting right now, I'm guessing there's some sort of bad story behind it, isn't there?" Roxas barely nodded, but Axel understood anyway, "Did you get it when your parents died?"

"I wish," Roxas mumbled bitterly. Axel glanced at him,

"You wish?"

_Should I tell him? _Roxas debated inside his head. A war ensued. It was his choice, really. It was _his _story, and before, he would just keep it between Demyx and him. But now Axel was part of his life. He really liked Axel, and he was only trying to help him, only trying to understand him. _I **want **to tell him… He doesn't have to know about my model life…_

_I need to get this out!_

"Axel…"

The redhead's hand found Roxas's, gripping it tightly and squeezing it, "Yeah?"

"If…" He took a deep breath, "If for any reason after I tell you this, you don't want…anything to do with me anymore, I'll understand. But—"

"Roxas," Axel sounded a little unnerved, "It's not _that _bad, is it?"

"Just listen."

And he told him what had happened _that night. _

_

* * *

_-cue in flashback- **His Last Walk: **I'll update soon. xD Thanks for reading. HAPPY EARLY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!1 Faster updates now, I hope. Yet again, depending on how fast the ideas come to me. Hopefully, they come quick. Heh. _Come_. LOL. I think today I said, "I came five minutes early." And then Earthly Evil laughed. D; I had no intentions of making that dirty. LOVE YOU ALL.


	15. XV

**Summary****:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warnings:** RAAPAGE. D: And Seifer is a bish. So's Sephiroth, even though he has godly hair. And Axel has temper issues. Umm, that's it, I think.

**Pairings:** AkuRoku MAIN. SoRiku, Zemyx Side.

**His Last Walk:** ENJOY LE CHAPTER ~

* * *

**XV**

_Roxas sat on his bed, reading a fairly long, hardcover book. He was hardly concentrating on the words though; the sound of the ticking clock was deafening in his ears. He wasn't at his hotel, but at his Sephiroth's mansion-like house. He had been told to sleep there for the night, and Roxas didn't really think much of it. His uncle was away at a party tonight anyway._

_That was why Roxas couldn't pay attention to the book. Sephiroth was at a party, which meant he was bound to get drunk. And whenever he was drunk…well, it was never fun for Roxas. Maybe this time it'll be different. _

_He should have known better though._

_There was a sudden crash downstairs and Roxas knew that Sephiroth had come home. Slowly, Roxas stood up and started towards the stairs. He leaned against it, "You're drunk," He said stiffly, noting his uncle's damp silver hair. _

_"Roxas, I am not **that **drunk. Come get me another drink." He hiccupped. _

_By drink, Roxas supposed that he didn't mean water. Disgusted, Roxas shook his head, "You've had enough for the night. Look at yourself."_

_"Roxas DeRenzis, you are thirteen years old. Do **not **tell your uncle that – just go get me another fucking drink, will you?" There was a bottle that was sloshing with alcohol and Roxas stomped down the stairs to rip it out of his grasp. Sephiroth looked shocked,_

_"No more drinking," Roxas felt a lot older than he really was. He almost smiled triumphantly at the look on his uncle's face, but that was before his huge, coarse hands starting reaching for the drink in Roxas's hand. Roxas jerked away, putting the drink out of arm's reach. Rolling his eyes, he started towards the kitchen, "Just go to sleep. I'm putting this away."_

_He should have known that Sephiroth was in a dangerous mood, especially since because he had just finished drinking. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he was suddenly spun around. The look in Sephiroth's eyes wasn't right, and Roxas blinked, confused, "Um…"_

_"Roxas," He started, lips curling in a snarl, "You should know better than to infuriate me."_

_The bottle fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. Roxas cried out as he was shoved against the wall. As he tried to struggle, Sephiroth's hands on his shoulders kept him in place. "What the hell?" Roxas hissed, attempting to writhe free. Sephiroth's eyes were glazed over with lust; this was the first time Roxas had seen him like this. Most of the time, it was just anger. It was never this…_

_"Let me go!" Roxas shouted, bringing his arms in between Sephiroth's and pushing his uncle away. A flicker of anger passed Sephiroth's face and Roxas knew from that instant that he was in deep trouble. Wrenching out of his grasp, Roxas fled for the stairs. He could already hear Sephiroth stomping after him._

_He reached the middle of the staircase, and then his ankle was yanked harshly. Roxas yelped in shock as he fell onto his stomach, groaning as it collided into the sharp edge of the stairs. The breath was knocked out of him, but then he was flipped onto his back. Terror washed over him as he felt Sephiroth's cold hands brush his hair back, _

_"Roxas, have you always been this beautiful?"_

_"Get—get away!" Roxas pounded his fists into Sephiroth's chest in a desperate attempt to crawl away. But he was in a very difficult position; it was hard to get away when he was lying on his back on the stairs. He stopped breathing as he felt Sephiroth's hand on his neck, caressing it lovingly, if not sinisterly. _

**_THIS IS WRONG! _**

_Roxas let out a terrified cry as Sephiroth's lips met with his neck. The tears weren't flowing down yet, but his eyes were brimming. His nails clawed at Sephiroth's dress shirt, but it didn't do much. He lay limp, helpless as Sephiroth moved to his lips, nipping ruthlessly at his skin. That was when Roxas brought his leg up, and with as much power as he could muster up, he kicked out and Sephiroth fell back. _

_"ROXAS!" He screamed angrily. _

_Like a frightened rabbit, Roxas scampered up the stairs, wiping his neck and mouth with the back of his hand. Pausing for a second, he debated whether or not to run to his room or the bathroom – anywhere that had a lock. With a fleeting glance backwards, he started for his room. It had a window in case he needed to escape._

_He only made it halfway through the hallway. The moment he felt Sephiroth's hand tangling through his blond hair, he knew he was a goner. His cheek suddenly met the wall and he whimpered in pain. "Ow…ow…"_

_"Roxas, what the fuck are you doing?"_

_His shirt was shoved up and Sephiroth's hands wandered all over his chest. Roxas shuddered in fear, "St-stop. This isn't right. We're **related**!" _

_"So?" Sephiroth smirked, spinning the boy around to face him. His eyes were slightly unfocused and Roxas tried struggling again. Sephiroth slammed Roxas's wrists against the wall, earning a strangled cry from the other. _

_"Pl-please…" Roxas shook his head frantically, "This isn't right, this isn't right…" He shrieked in terror as Sephiroth grabbed him by the hair and started dragging him towards his room. There was a heart wrenching feeling in Roxas's gut, like he already knew what was coming for him, but he refused to believe it. Stomach turning and twisting sickeningly, he found himself thrown on top Sephiroth's bed. _

_He instantly sat up and tried shuffling backwards, but Sephiroth had a vice grip on his ankles and he was forcefully pulled back. Trembling with dread, he went to his last resort. Begging._

_"Seph—uncle, please…please think about what you're doi—" A painful squeeze at his throat caused him to choke. He squirmed as Sephiroth positioned himself over him. _

_"I know what I'm doing," Sephiroth snarled, "Just…relax, Roxas."_

_"N-no!" He was flipped onto his stomach and as he tried to kick out again, his left arm was wrenched behind him and he cried out. In no position to escape, he rested his forehead on the bed sheet, hyperventilating slightly. _

_"Trust me, Roxas," The blond felt his pants sliding down and he gnawed on his bottom lip to keep from screaming out as he felt something prodding at his entrance. He twisted and turned, but that only caused Sephiroth's finger to dig in deeper. A smothered cry escaped his throat, but Sephiroth just said soothingly, words slurring together, "Trust me. It'll feel good. We're just getting to the best part, Roxas…"_

_Roxas felt the fingers pulling out and he almost sighed in relief. That was until he felt something bigger forcing its way inside of him._

_Roxas screamed._

_- -_

_"Stop crying," Sephiroth snapped as soon as he was done. He pulled out of Roxas, finally letting go of the boy's arm. Roxas's arm fell limply to his side; it had been held behind his back all the while he was being taken. His cheek was against the blankets, and he could feel blood and other bodily fluids trickling down his legs_. Hurts…everything hurts_, he thought…That was the only thing he could comprehend at the moment. _

_Sephiroth cupped his chin and forced him to look into his eyes. The blue eyes met with the cold, hard ones, and Roxas swallowed, "You're not to tell anyone about this, you hear me?"_

_Roxas whimpered as Sephiroth's grip tightened, "Answer."_

_"Y-yes…" Roxas rolled onto his back, shifting his legs so that he could pull his boxers back up. It was hard, but he tried his best. Wincing every so often, he tried not to look at the stains of cum on the bed. He looked away, and he swore he could hear Sephiroth smirk,_

_"Does it hurt, Roxas? You enjoyed it, didn't you? You little whore," Words still slurred. Sephiroth was still wasted._

_Roxas shook his head, "No, it didn't hurt," He lied through his teeth. He wasn't going to give Sephiroth the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt him. Broken him into pieces. He just **watched **him as he cried his heart out. Roxas couldn't feel his backside at all. It was so rough…and it was his first time…_

_"Really now?" Sephiroth chuckled darkly, "So how about another round?" He started to reach for Roxas, but the blond smacked his hand away._

_"Don't touch me," Roxas's voice broke. Sephiroth's face twisted in anger,_

_"What did you say?"_

_Roxas sat up as best he could and rolled over to the other side of the bed, opposite of where Sephiroth was. He clenched his teeth together as he tried shuffling to the side; Sephiroth's eyes were plastered on him. "I said don't **touch** me. Ever again. You're a sick fu—"_

_Roxas jumped in fright as Sephiroth slammed his hand on the bed post. They were silent, and Roxas could feel his knees shaking. Sephiroth's voice lowered dangerously, "Come here, Roxas DeRenzis."_

_Roxas's mouth moved, but no words came out. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, "What?"_

_"No!" Roxas limped as fast as he could towards the door. He sensed Sephiroth advancing towards him but he heeded that no attention. He just wanted out…out of the house. As he reached the middle of the stairs again, Sephiroth yanked at his elbow, causing him to spin around, "Let go, dammit!" Roxas cried out, tears wetting his cheeks, "I don't want—don't want—"_

_He let out a gasp as Sephiroth's grip loosened abruptly and he was sent flying backwards. He managed to step back one, but then his footing was lost and he toppled backwards. He hit his head a couple of times falling down, but as he lay in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs, he groaned and attempted to pull himself up. _

_"Roxas fucking DeRenzis," Sephiroth's voice was soft as he picked Roxas up by the hair. Roxas knew this voice all too well. Now Sephiroth was going to get even more violent, "Is that any way to treat your uncle? HUH?!" He slammed Roxas against the wall again, drawing a pained moan from the boy. _

_"You're hurting me! Stop!" Roxas grasped Sephiroth's wrist with his own two hands, trying to loosen the relentless grip of those bony fingers. The anger in his uncle's eyes only deepened, and the next second, Roxas found unbearable agony shooting up from his back. Sephiroth had shoved him against one of the sharp corners of the counter in the foyer. It was digging into his back, and it was excruciating. _

_Roxas whimpered, "Seph—Sephiroth, you're—" He screamed; Sephiroth had just pushed him even harder. He could feel the blood welling up on his back and dripping down his flawless skin. His uncle unintentionally pushed even harder, and down, causing Roxas to fall and the corner of the marble counter to rip up his skin. Roxas could have sworn he blacked out for a second._

_Then, as sudden as it started, it was all over. Sephiroth noticed the red pooling around Roxas's ankles and he immediately let go. Roxas slumped to the side, not bothering to keep steady on his feet. Without the consent of his own body, he curled up into a fetal position, sobbing quietly for only the cold, tiled floor to hear. _

_"Oh, shit…"_

_Sephiroth seemed to have realized what he had done because he ran towards the kitchen, trying to find a phone. As Roxas heard the relieving sound of the buttons of the phone being pressed, he tried to think of something else. Anything else other than the pain. But it was almost impossible; he couldn't do it. He closed his eyes, and the last thing he remembered about that night was how much more welcoming the floor was than anything else in his world. _

* * *

Roxas sat, listening to the clear chirp of the crickets. For once, the weight was finally off his chest. It had been a long time since he had felt this good. He felt a lot better, now that he let his story out, but there was something that was still bothering him. Axel hadn't said anything after the story was finished; it would appear as if he had nothing to say. Roxas had been quite careful not to go into specifics. He was quite sure that Axel wouldn't catch onto anything. He had thought about it before; Axel wouldn't go into detail to find all the comparisons between his boyfriend and someone he hated. The thought of Roxas being the actual Roxas DeRenzis might not even cross the redhead's mind. Roxas breathed hard through his nose,

"Ever since that happened, I've had dreams of it. Every so often, it'd come up again and I was _never allowed to forget it_," Roxas hugged his knees closer to his chest, "Then after we started getting closer, and pardon the sappiness of this whole ordeal, the dreams stopped."

Axel still didn't say anything. Roxas noticed that his shoulders were shaking. The 'brunet' sighed, turning away and stifling a yawn. When had he suddenly become tired? Then he heard Axel's voice, barely audible,

"That sick fuck," Axel growled, clenching his hands into fists. He was doing it so hard that his knuckles were turning white, "That _bastard_…" He turned to face Roxas, and to the boy's utter surprise, there was no hint of disgust in those beautiful emerald eyes as he looked at Roxas, "He's your _uncle_? And he never got _caught_?"

"Yeah," Roxas nodded, "Even if I told the police the truth, they won't believe me. But that was before I started living with Demyx." _Another lie. _He gulped, "You're not…disgusted?"

Axel raised an eyebrow, "Disgusted?"

"I'm dirty…I was rape—"

"That doesn't change the way I think about you," Axel said bluntly, and Roxas felt his heart do a strange little flutter. "You were forced into it. That guy doesn't _live _with you anymore, right?" Roxas shook his head. Axel took a deep breath, pulling his boyfriend closer to him, "That's wrong."

"I know," Roxas let his head rest on Axel's chest.

"That's sick-minded, and just…_wrong_ and…Roxas?"

"Yeah?" The younger closed his eyes, feeling awfully tired. All that running away, and then the story-telling; he was exhausted.

"I'll take care of you," He felt Axel's hands wrapping around him protectively, "He won't come near you."

"He's on the other side of the world, and he won't do it again. He'll probably still have his temper, but he won't go that far again. Ever again," Roxas laughed lightly into Axel's shirt, "But the thought's nice. Thank you."

After a while, he heard Axel chuckle, "…Was this why you were upset earlier?"

Roxas shivered from the cold; his clothes were still wet. He inclined his head into a nod, "It's disgusting," He sensed Axel's hand on the small of his back and the redhead's chin on the top of his head. He wasn't worried about the wig falling off now; in any case, it was securely on. Axel's voice broke the silence,

"May I?"

Roxas stirred, a little bewildered. But he allowed Axel to do whatever he wanted. "Yeah," He mumbled.

He sighed contentedly as Axel rubbed his back through the wet, thin cloth of his black shirt. He stiffened in shock when Axel slipped underneath the fabric, but something told him that Axel's intentions were clean. Supple fingers grazed the scar on his back and Roxas tensed slightly. Axel traced it up with his index finger, "It's not _so _bad," He whispered, "I don't think it's bad at all."

Roxas knew he was just trying to make him feel better. He didn't want to admit it, but he _was _feeling better about it now. The light, gentle touches on his scar seemed to make the painful memories of it slip away. It was so comforting; he could almost fall asleep to this.

"What about your friends?" Roxas barely managed to say. He couldn't keep awake any longer.

"I _did _say I wanted to spend my night with you," Axel sounded amused. "They'll understand. It's _my _birthday and I can do whatever the hell I want," There was a short pause, "And I want…"

"To be with me?" Roxas snickered under his breath.

Axel smirked, "You said it," He held his boyfriend, continuing to trail his finger up and down that scar. Roxas purred blissfully, fading in and out of sleep. Axel sensed it, but he persisted on rubbing Roxas's back, outlining the scar with his fingers absentmindedly. Contrary to Roxas's past, Axel was a lot more welcoming than anything in his world.

Even though Roxas soon fell asleep and slouched against Axel's lean body, the redhead didn't stop stroking his back. He rested his chin on Roxas's head, pulling back at the scratchiness of his hair. He sighed, "I want to know more about you, Roxas…" He glanced up at the stars,

"If only you'd let me into your life."

* * *

Roxas stirred, the morning sun in his eyes. He scrunched his face, faintly annoyed of the light beaming through the windows. He smelled leather, and as he moved onto his other side, he realized that he was lying on top of a leather seat. He sat up, groaning and rubbing his eyes. The blanket fell off and he realized he was bare-chested.

"Morning, starshine."

Roxas let out a rather undignified squeak and he grabbed the blue blanket that had dropped onto the car floor. He covered himself up, but he relaxed his grip when he realized the only other person in the car was Axel. He gaped at him, "Wh-why am I…?" Roxas made a face; _I didn't do anything with him last night, did I? I don't…remember…_

"I had to take off your shirt or else you would have gotten a cold," Axel shrugged indifferently as he turned around to face the steering wheel, but Roxas caught that little smirk of his, "I was actually debating whether or not to take off your pants but…"

"Pervert," Roxas scowled. As soon as Axel's eyes were back on the road, Roxas tentatively looked under the blanket to make sure his pants _were _really on. They were, but because he was sleeping with them wet, they were still soaked with water. Roxas squirmed uncomfortably, his hand patting at his wig, which was still securely on, "Where are we going? And where did I sleep last night? In here?" He took a quick glance around and breathed in the scent of leather again, "Is this your car?"

"Whoa," Axel slowed the car down, "What's with the questions? We're going to your place 'cause you need to change into your uniform in," He checked his watch, "Five minutes. You slept with me last night in here and yes, it's my car—"

"WHAT? I slept with _you_ when?"

Axel rolled his eyes, a grin on his face, "Not '_with me_' with me, silly Roxas. _Now _who's the perverted one?" He watched as the boy's face reddened in humiliation and he licked his lips seductively, causing the red to deepen. He thought it was best if he didn't bring up what had happened last night. He nodded towards the door, "It's your stop. Ya got three minutes or we're gonna be late for school."

Roxas nodded his head, speeding up to Demyx's room. But when he reached the door, he started to become a little hesitant. But he shook the thought out of his head. Zexion was supposed to be at school anyway. He opened the door.

He had thought too soon. He should have known they would sleep together after their date… but on the couch?! Closing his eyes and making his way towards the half-naked principal, who was sleeping on top of Demyx, he tapped him on the shoulder. A blanket covered the both of them. Zexion groaned, "What…?"

Roxas could tell he was not a morning person. He leaned close to Zexion's ear, "You're late for school."

The slate-haired man instantly leapt up, kneeing Demyx in the stomach. His guardian groaned in pain, waking up, and in the chaos, they both toppled to the ground, Demyx on top of Zexion. Roxas made a face, grabbing his uniform that was on the chair beside. It was a good thing that the blanket also got tangled up and that it still covered their…nether regions.

Zexion wriggled a little, "Offfff," He growled.

Demyx was apparently still sleeping and he snored, head resting on Zexion's chest. Roxas shrugged, "Good luck. Don't worry though," He added as he walked towards his room to change, "He'll drive you to school on time. No doubt about that."

By the time Roxas was done changing, Demyx was still pretending to be snoozing on top of Zexion, who was having a very stressful time trying to escape. Roxas tried hard not to smile, but it was hard.

"What're you smiling at?" Axel asked as he drove the car forward.

"Nothin'," Roxas chirped cheerfully. Axel smirked,

"You seem awfully bright. Something good happen?"

"You're still with me, aren't you?"

Axel glanced at him through the mirror, "I told you that I was gonna stay with you, no matter what."

"Is that a promise?" Roxas grinned, feeling bubbly for some odd reason. Maybe because of the fact that Axel had stayed with him all night. The minute Axel's vibrant green eyes met with his and he heard that low voice, he felt like he had suddenly done something wrong.

"You want it to be?"

Roxas smiled softly, turning away. _God, you make me feel the strangest feelings, _Roxas thought to himself. "Maybe," He declared. A sudden thought struck him. He didn't even _know _that it was Axel's birthday yesterday until the redhead had told him. How much did he _really _know about his own boyfriend? He stared at the back of Axel's maroon hair. _I want to know more…_

"Axel, we should go on a da—"

"Okay, Roxas, we're here," Axel announced, "Come on, let's go. You don't wanna be late."

Roxas bit down on his lip, resisting the urge to groan in frustration. He decided to leave this conversation until later. But he really wanted to go on a date. It would be his first date…with a boy that he actually and sincerely _really _liked.

"Okay."

* * *

"You know what I've noticed?" Riku asked during lunch. Roxas was brooding in a corner. He had to do a chemistry test during his next period since he wasn't going to be doing anything in his Geography class anyway; he had begged his teacher to let him skip that particular test so that he could study during lunch since he had completely forgotten about the test. Axel was doing his best not to distract his boyfriend,

"What?" Axel asked, "That I'm utterly irresistible and charming?"

"Ha, no," Riku scoffed, "You _two_," He pointed at Roxas, then at Axel, making the younger jerk his head up from his Chemistry textbook, "You two have never been on a date."

"Yes, we have," Axel said quickly, "We were on that…double date just a few weeks ago."

"A _real _date," Riku interrupted. Roxas placed his Chemistry textbook on his lap; this conversation was far more interesting than his Chemistry formulas. "Like a date where you two are alone…"

Pause.

"Together…"

Another pause.

"Alone…_together_…"

"Okay, okay! Shut up, man," Axel snapped, half-heartedly ruffling Riku's hair, earning a pointed stare from Sora, "I get the point," As Riku scowled and reached up to fix up his hair, which was now wildly unkempt, Axel turned to face Roxas. "Besides, Roxas doesn't wanna go on a date with me, right?"

Roxas chewed on his bottom lip, "Well, actually…"

Axel's jade eyes widened, and Riku slapped him on the back, "Well, what do ya know? Lover boy wants a date."

"But my dates are lame," Axel nervously tugged at his backpack, "You of all people should know that."

"Oh, no," Riku rolled his eyes, "We have loads of fun with Marley and Larx hanging around," At this, Axel stayed silent, and Riku continued, "Just go on one measly date with your boyfriend, Axel."

"You're pushy," Axel grumbled, sliding over to where Roxas was and draping an arm over his shoulder. Roxas could already tell that Axel agreed though. Riku just shrugged and looked away, returning his attention back to Sora. There was a triumphant grin splashed across his face. Axel's hand fell on Roxas's neck and it trailed down the boy's spine. As soon as Riku started talking, Axel lowered his voice, "So…a date, huh?"

"If you'd like," Roxas said quietly.

Axel gave him a small smirk and leaned down, biting down gently on Roxas's earlobe. The boy shuddered in delight, and Axel breathed huskily, "I'd _love _to go on a date with you."

"Really?" Roxas earned a particularly hard nip on the neck and he winced again.

"Really," Axel whispered, "Today's Friday? I'll pick you up at two tomorrow, cutie," He kissed his cheek, drawing a flattering pink to Roxas's cheeks.

Roxas rolled his eyes, but he was pleased all the same. Just at that moment, the bell rang and Axel pulled Roxas up to his feet. Roxas glanced down, "Nice shoes."

Black and white converses. Axel must have forgotten to change out of them. The redhead sneakily put his finger on his lips, "Shh, no one's noticed yet."

Roxas followed Axel out of the bathroom; Mr. Strife had told him that he would be writing the test outside the gym since he was teaching P.E that period. Axel had that period, and Roxas thought vaguely at the back of his mind that he would love nothing more than to watch Axel running around in shorts.

Axel stopped outside the change room, pushing the door open and peeking inside. No one was there yet, and Axel grinned like the Cheshire Cat, jerking his thumb back, "No one's there. Wanna fuck?"

Roxas made a face, "You're funny."

Axel shook his head, "Nope. I was being serious."

Typical Axel. Always thinking about sex. Roxas turned around just in time to see Mr. Strife coming out of his office. His eyes met with Roxas's and he motioned for the boy to come. Axel made a small, disappointed whine from the back of his throat and Roxas gave him a teasing smirk, "Maybe later."

Axel's eyes instantly brightened and Roxas wasted no time in flouncing towards Mr. Strife, swaying his hips a little for only Axel to see. Mr. Strife rolled his eyes, handing Roxas the test papers, "Here you are. No cheating, and you're allowed to use your calculator if you like."

"I like," Roxas nodded, pulling his calculator out of his bag. He lay down on his stomach near the gym doors and spread his test paper and his periodic table (given by the teacher) out. He paid no attention to the other boys and girls walking into their change rooms, but he noticed a few of them giving him strange looks. Roxas shuffled over to the side, feeling that he was blocking the open door.

Every so often, while doing his test, he would look up to see Axel staring at him from across the gym. Roxas would blink, and then Axel would grin, wave, and blow a not-so-inconspicuous kiss at him. Roxas blushed and returned his focus back to the chemical equations. Did Axel _enjoy _flirting with him at the most random times of the day?

The whistle blew inside the gym, "SEIFER! THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME YOU'VE INJURED SOMEONE!"

"Sir, I can't _help_ it," Roxas could hear that familiar drawl. "He's just _standing _there like a complete idiot. It's not my fault he didn't see the soccer ball coming his way."

"Hayner, get your nose cleaned up at the office. Seifer, come with me," Mr. Strife hauled Seifer out of the gym and soon, Roxas found the bully standing right in front of him. Seifer glanced down at the skipping rope passed to him. His face twisted in a scowl,

"What the hell is this?"

"Two hundred," Mr. Strife ordered, "Double skips. Two hundred in a row or you do it until the end of the class."

"WHAT?!" Mr. Strife shoved the blue skipping rope into Seifer's hands and left. Seifer had opened his mouth to protest, but then Mr. Strife turned back around to say,

"One more thing, Seifer. Get rid of that abhorrence on your head or I'm sending you to the office."

"Fucking hate this teacher…" Seifer growled under his breath as he unraveled the skipping rope and pulled his black beanie off. Mr. Strife had disappeared into the gym once more to supervise the other teenagers, making sure that no one else got hurt. Roxas did his best to concentrate on his test. He was near done; this wasn't too hard. But he wasn't too comfortable being so close to the bully.

He heard the swish of the skipping rope and mentally, he started counting alongside Seifer. _One, two, three— _

"SHIT!" Seifer hopped around in one spot as the skipping rope lashed onto his leg; he hadn't jumped in time. Roxas glanced up to see the angry red mark across Seifer's knee. He heard the older take a deep breath before starting again.

This time he got to twenty, then…

"FUCKING HELL, THIS IS TORTURE!"

"Oh, Seifer, stop complaining," Mr. Strife called back, "It's for your own good."

Seifer flipped him off before starting again, but his teacher had already turned his back on him. "How am I supposed to do two hundred?" Seifer grumbled, jumping at a steady rhythm. Now, every so often, he would hear Seifer swear in colorful language and another red mark would appear on his legs. Some would be on his muscular arms, but hardly ever. Then, something funny happened.

Seifer tripped over the rope and fell forwards. Roxas tried to turn his snicker into a hacking cough, but it didn't work. Seifer pulled himself up, glaring at Roxas, "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," Roxas smiled bravely. He didn't like Seifer anyway. The bully narrowed his eyes, yanking his beanie back on top of his head.

"Sure," Seifer went on skipping and Roxas was a little bit surprised. That was it? He heard more about Seifer, but he supposed he wouldn't do anything when the teacher was there. Roxas tapped the back of his pencil on the ground.

_WHACK! _

Roxas jolted in pain as the skipping rope met with the back of his leg. He jerked his head up to look at Seifer, but the boy wasn't even looking at him. There was a smirk playing on his lips though, and Roxas knew that he had done it on purpose. Still skipping, Seifer jumped a little closer towards Roxas,

"I hear you're dating Axel."

Roxas bit down on his lip as the skipping rope met with his arm. He shuffled back, "Y-yeah," He muttered. _I'm not gonna cry out. I'm **not **gonna look like a wimp._

"Ah, another faggot just like him," Seifer simpered, doing a quick double skip before resuming to normal single ones. Roxas noticed that every time Mr. Strife would look over, he'd do a double skip. He hoped Mr. Strife would notice Seifer doing this to him. Roxas glared hard at his paper.

_WHACK! _

"Can you _stop_?" Roxas tried to keep his voice from wavering. The last hit had finally brought some tears in his eyes. Sure, now he knew how it felt to be hit across the legs with a skipping rope. He tried sitting up and placing his papers on his knees. Only one more question left, and he could leave.

"Sorry, I don't listen to faggots," Seifer grinned, hopping even closer. Roxas could see that scar on his forehead. _WHACK! WHACK!_

Roxas whimpered, shielding his head with his arms now. His arms were stinging like mad; Seifer was hitting him so _hard._ He tried writing down his answer with his left hand, but everything came out shaky. Biting down on his lip, he quickly circled the right answer and stood up. Seifer stopped skipping and blocked his way. Roxas stood his ground, "Leave me alone," He snapped.

Seifer snickered at his useless attempts, "Nooo," He whined in a mocking voice. He flicked at Roxas's face, causing the boy to fall back against the wall.

_Is this what it's like to be bullied? _Roxas thought as he tried pushing Seifer away. But Seifer was so strong that he didn't even budge. The fleshy part of Seifer's palm collided into his chest, knocking the breath out of him. As he doubled over, he heard Seifer's revolted voice,

"Ugh, you two make me _sick_. Grow some balls, chickenwuss."

Roxas tried straightening back up, but the moment he did, Seifer threw the skipping rope over him. Laughing maniacally, he tangled him up, around his legs and around his arms, "C'mon, Lamer. Fight back."

Roxas frowned, trying to free his arms, but it was near impossible. Seifer was pulling at the skipping rope and wrapping it around so quickly that Roxas couldn't keep up. He tried stepping back, but his feet were so tangled that he fell backwards. His head hit the wall and Seifer let out a short bark of laughter, but at least now the ropes were a little loosened.

_Where's Mr. Strife? _Roxas thought as his head ached. _Where's Axel?_

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, he saw the bottom of Seifer's shoe hovering above his face. He froze, and Seifer mocked him, "Calling for help, wuss? I'll break your fucking jaw."

He felt Seifer's shoe stepping gently on his cheek, but it wasn't enough to hurt. Only enough to get him a little scared. Seifer wasn't _really _going to carry out his threat, was he? He closed his eyes, bracing himself.

"What the fuck are you _doing_?"

The next second, Seifer's foot lost contact with his face and Roxas blinked his eyes open to see droplets of blood on the ground beside him. Seifer was holding his bloody nose, and Axel looked absolutely livid. Axel's eyes met with Roxas's and his eyes scanned the boy's body. He saw the footprint on Roxas's face and he snapped his head towards Seifer,

"YOU FUCKER!" Axel threw his fist at Seifer's face again, his other hand grasping the boy's shoulder and pinning him to the wall. Seifer groaned; Roxas had never seen Axel so angry. He pulled the ropes off himself just in time to see Axel shout, "Why'd you touch him?!"

"Cause he's fucking fag," Seifer laughed arrogantly in Axel's face. Bringing his leg up, he kneed Axel in the stomach and the redhead stumbled back. Seifer adjusted his beanie, "Don't worry, Axel. I didn't _touch _him _that _way."

"You—"

Roxas watched helplessly as Axel threw himself on top of Seifer and the two of them rolled across the ground, aiming their fists at each other's faces. From what Roxas could see, Axel was winning, but only because he was on top of Seifer and pummeling the blond's face with his knuckles.

"Stop!" Roxas cried out, but the two didn't hear him, "STOP IT, AXEL!"

Seifer's hand clutched at Axel's brilliant red hair and yanked hard, causing the redhead to howl in pain. Axel fell to the side, panting for breath, and Seifer stood up. He stood there, using his hand to motion Axel to come closer in a jeering way. Axel rubbed his head as he staggered back up and in an instant, Roxas ran to his side, grasping his elbow,

"Axel, stop."

Axel shrugged Roxas's hand off, eyes piercing daggers at Seifer. Roxas glanced around and saw Mr. Strife looking their way. He waved his hands in the air to attract his attention, but then Axel attacked again. Roxas saw Axel's fist connecting with Seifer's eye; that blond was going to get a nasty black-eye the next day. Seifer threw his right hand at him, but it only grazed Axel. Roxas sprinted towards his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his hips,

"CALM DOWN, AXEL!"

He could feel Axel's muscles tensing as he tried to leap away from Roxas without hurting him, but the boy just held on even tighter. Seifer sneered, wiping more blood away from his nose, "Aw, what a lovely gay couple."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Axel screamed.

"HEY! BREAK IT UP, YOU TWO!" Mr. Strife came running over and grabbed hold of Seifer's arm, "Seifer, you're coming with me. Axel, you too."

"I'll be in the office in a sec," Axel grumbled, touching the side of his head. He had a cut there. Roxas picked up his test papers and stuffed them into Mr. Strife's hands,

"I'll bring Axel to the bathroom," Roxas said, grasping Axel's hand. Mr. Strife sent the redhead a wary look before nodding his head,

"Just bring him to the office afterwards. Come on, Seifer. You're in big trouble," The other blond scowled as he stomped down the hallway after his teacher. Roxas turned back towards Axel and as the two entered the bathroom, Roxas didn't say anything. Axel was already mad, and Roxas was afraid he'd make it worse. He shrunk away from Axel, watching as the redhead rinsed his face with water.

Axel was scary when he was mad, but Roxas tried to worm the fact in that his boyfriend would be nothing like Sephiroth.

"Stay away from him," Axel muttered, turning the tap off. Roxas nodded silently. Axel continued, his eyes gleaming dangerously, "If he touches you again, you run the fuck out of there, got it memorized?" He received another soundless nod from the 'brunet'. "Say something," Axel sighed.

"…you and Seifer…?"

"He used to be bigger than me," Axel said, "He tormented me all through grade nine, but grade ten, I got the better of him. We stopped fighting, but then today…just now…"

"He used to go after you because you liked boys?" Roxas jumped in alarm when Axel smacked his hand against the wall in fury,

"And now he's going after you!" Axel's voice started rising, "I should've seen! I knew something was wrong but – dammit! I want to watch over you but I feel like I can't. What if…if…"

Roxas listened as Axel continued to rant, nearly pulling out his own hair in frustration at himself. A small smile pulled at Roxas's lips. Axel was definitely different than Sephiroth.

He _cared_.

"—And _shit_, what if he goes after you again and I'm not _there_?" Axel kicked the base of the sink with his sneakers, "I just…" He stopped and sighed wearily, sliding down against the wall. Roxas smiled, taking tiny steps towards Axel. He sat down beside him, placing a hand on the redhead's knee.

Axel instantly noticed the red welt marks on Roxas's arms and his eyes flashed. Grabbing hold of Roxas's right hand, he studied the arm intently. He kissed his arm, and even though it was stinging before, it now felt tingly. Axel's lips continued to graze along the marks. "Sorry, Roxas."

Roxas rolled his eyes. In a flash, he straddled Axel's waist and his boyfriend looked at him curiously. He pulled his arm out of Axel's hands and he pushed his face near him, "It's okay," He whispered. Axel's hands rested on Roxas's hips as the 'brunet' kissed Axel deeply, "It's okay, Axel," He repeated in a panted breath as he pulled away, "It'll be okay."

Their noses touched briefly as Roxas pulled away, and Axel exhaled. He seemed less furious now; a bit calmed down. He gripped Roxas tightly, "You're mine," He whispered possessively, "Got it--"

"Memorized," Roxas finished for him, an innocent smile spreading on his face. Axel nodded.

"Damn, I gotta get to the office," Axel mumbled, letting Roxas sit on his lap. He pulled the boy closer to him, and Roxas snuggled close to him. Roxas wiggled a little in his lap and the redhead bit down on his lip, "H-hey, don't do that. You're gonna make me…"

Roxas wiggled his eyebrows playfully, "What?"

Axel gave him a weak smile, "Rox-as," He kissed his neck, "You're so cute I could eat you up," As Roxas laughed breathily, he pulled away, groaning as he leaned against the wall, "I'm gonna get detention."

"But so will he," Roxas pointed out.

Axel grinned, "Yeah," He motioned Roxas to get up and he pushed himself onto his feet, stretching his arms, "I feel kinda better now. Thanks, Roxy," He winked at him, "I probably can't go on the bus later, so I'll see you tomorrow. Wear something nice, kay?"

"Like…?" Roxas couldn't think of anything good to wear to a date.

Axel shrugged, inching towards the door, "Something…that'll make me wanna charm my way into your pants. Bye, Roxas! Kiss kiss~" Just as Roxas opened his mouth to object, he pecked Roxas quickly on the lips before running away.

Roxas stared for a while. There were butterflies in his stomach again, the ones that only appeared when Axel kissed him. He touched his stomach lightly with his fingers and sighed.

Then he traipsed off to find his backpack.

* * *

**His Last Walk: **In case you don't know:  
**Single Skips: **Normal skipping. I'm sure you know what that is. One jump = one skip  
**Double Skips: **One jump = two skips. I'm telling you, if you don't know how to do it properly, you hit yourself so many times it's not even funny. It's like self-torture. Almost. **IT HURRRTS SO GOOOD. **LOL.

On another note, I'm kinda loving my xxxmas break so far. :D How are yours?

_i wanna take a chance deep in your underpants. _Heh. Mindless Self Indulgence rocks my non-existant socks. I can't even find a perfect pair anymore. There are sock stealers in my house.


	16. XVI

**Summary****:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Citrusy things here, even if it is a little vague. There might be a few mistakes but…yeah… Also, slower kinda updates. I'm kinda busy with stuff.

**Pairings:** Main AkuRoku, SoRiku and Zemyx side

**His Last Walk:** Ciaossu! Really and in all honesty, I've got nothing against the fashion industry~ I know it's a little late to say this, but I just want you all to know. Enjoy la read! Also, I **don't **own any of the bands or songs that I mention in this chapter, and **yes, I did adjust the lyrics of Situations **by Escape the Fate a little.

* * *

**XVI**

"What should I wear?"

"Clothes," Demyx stated smartly as he sprawled over the couch. "You don't want to go naked," He gazed at Roxas in wonder, "…Or _do _you?"

Roxas sent him a withering look, "Very funny. Specifically, I mean," The blond was a little freaked out since he had no idea what to do. The date had been _his _idea, and now he felt like he knew absolutely nothing about dates. His gaze flew to the window, and he ran towards it, "Hey, look! It's snowing!"

"Really?!" Demyx knocked Roxas over while hurrying over to the window. Roxas picked himself up, groaning and rubbing his sore little head. He relished the times that he could actually walk around without a wig. As Roxas took this chance to raid through his closet for a pair of jeans, Demyx turned back towards him, "What are you two doing, anyway?"

Roxas shrugged, pulling out a pair before throwing them back in, "He didn't say anything about it. Just told me he was going to take me out."

Demyx smirked gallantly, "To a motel?" He dodged the pair of jeans that Roxas instantly threw at him. The blond's face was bright red and he held his cheeks with his hands to hide most of the blush,

"Don't say stuff like that!" He whirled around to pull off his pajama shirt. Demyx watched him, and even though Roxas knew Demyx's intentions were clean, he still felt slightly self-conscious. As he pulled on a gray long-sleeve shirt, he said quietly, "I told Axel…about the scar."

For a long moment, Demyx stayed silent. Then as Roxas was sliding on his jeans, he heard, "And what did he say?"

"Nothing," Roxas bit down on his lip, "Well, he said a lot, but I'll…keep those to myself. He still doesn't know about…Roxas DeRenzis though."

Demyx just sighed, sitting back down, "Roxy…"

"I know, I know!" As the blond adjusted his wig on top of his head, he said, "I just don't know _when _to tell him. He's gonna get mad, Dem, I know he is. C-can't I just tell him at the end of this year?" Roxas begged, "I need more time." When Demyx didn't say anything right away, Roxas pulled on a jacket and flipped the hood over his head, making sure that it wouldn't knock his wig over.

"It's up to you," Demyx lulled his head back against the couch, "I'll stop bugging you about it, I guess. I can't say anything that'll change your mind anyway. But whatever happens, I'm here," He pointed at himself with a happy expression. It pulled a smile from Roxas and the 'brunet' tackled his guardian to the couch,

"Thanks, Demyx!"

_You're just gonna have to learn it the hard way…_ Demyx thought as he patted Roxas's head gently. _I'd hate you see you get hurt though, Roxas…_

Roxas got up, "I've still got a full hour though. Do I look okay?" He glanced over at Demyx anxiously, waiting for approval. His friend cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow,

"H-a-w-t," Demyx spelled out for him. Roxas grinned sheepishly and he jumped a little when he heard the buzzer behind him. He exchanged looks with Demyx but he ran over all the same. Pressing the button, he said,

"Hello?"

"Hey, Roxas? Demyx? Ahh, whoever. It's Axel. I came an hour early because I – wait, that sounds dirty. Okay, well, I'm here an hour early because I got bored. Are you ready to go out anyway?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. I'm coming in a second, okay?"

He didn't get a lucid reply; instead, all he could hear was snickering. Then he realized what he said and he hit the wall, "Axel! You're so dirty! Stop it. I'll be there. Hold on!" As he quickly stuffed his small feet into his black and white vans, Demyx waved after him lazily,

"Have fun, you. Remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"You're known to do just about anything, Dem," Roxas wiggled his fingers, "Bye!"

"Be careful."

Roxas knew what he meant, and he nodded dutifully, "I will," And he closed the door behind him. He was so excited about today. Even though he had no idea what was planned for him for this day, he just wanted to enjoy it. Before this, he wasn't even _allowed _on dates. But now that Sephiroth was gone, he could do whatever he wanted.

Though…he had hung up on Sephiroth that other night. He hoped his uncle would forget about it. He strode out of the apartment and was met with a chilly air. He shivered and glanced around, in search of Axel's bright hair. He couldn't see him. Tugging at his scarf, he continued to peer around nervously. _Where did Axel go_?

"Hey, hot stuff."

Roxas rolled his eyes at the familiar voice as he swiveled around, "Hey, Axel," He wasn't surprised to see his boyfriend's crimson hair still riotously disheveled. Even the hat looked like it was about to fall off any second. Roxas felt his legs walking automatically towards him and Axel smiled. He snaked his arms around Roxas's waist and pulled him even closer,

"You're cute."

Locking their lips together, Axel let his hands fall and slip into Roxas's back pockets. Roxas's eyes widened as Axel pinched his butt and he nearly wanted to pull away to reproach him, but Axel wasn't in any mood to let him go.

"You know I've always thought you had a cute butt."

"Thanks?" Roxas blushed. He saw a few passing people sending them strange looks and he turned his head to the side, taking a breath, "What do you have planned today?"

"I actually didn't think much about it," Axel admitted, nibbling gently on Roxas's ear, "I guess we can just walk around and…I don't know. I want to know more about you. We can watch a movie too, if you like."

"Movie sounds good," Roxas said as Axel let him go.

But when they got to the movie theaters, the movie that they wanted to watch was sold out. Axel made a face as he read the names of the movies, "Well, I don't have another movie that I want to watch. Do you?" He glanced at Roxas, who shook his head,

"We don't need to watch one," Roxas's heart fell. He didn't know what else they could do to pass the time. Was it just him, or was the date already heading for an epic fail? Axel took off his hat and stuffed it into his pocket, his eyes narrowing as he tried to think. Roxas glanced at the other couples around them. They were all holding hands…or cuddling…or making out. Roxas suddenly felt awkward.

He saw Axel's right hand and he started to reach for it, but just as he did so, Axel moved to the left. Roxas attempted to make it look like he had grabbed at thin air on purpose. Axel gave him a strange look, "What are you doing?"

Roxas grinned lopsidedly, "Catching butterflies?" _They're all over the place in my stomach. _Then he cleared his throat, "Now what?"

Axel pointed somewhere in the far distance, "Let's go there."

Roxas followed him obediently and Axel glanced back at him, a small smile on his face. Holding his hand out, he waited for Roxas to take it, which he did a few seconds later. Cheerfully trailing behind Axel, he didn't care _who _was watching. He was just happy to be with Axel.

Axel stopped in front of a box-like thing with curtains that fell down to the ground. Roxas stared at it. "What's this?" He poked at the curtains, drawing them aside. There was a seat inside so Roxas _believed _that they were supposed to sit inside. Axel pulled him in, closing the curtains back up.

"It's to take pictures."

"Pictures? Okay," Roxas raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. _Like model shoots? Do we have to pose? I'm confused…_ He watched as Axel poked in a few coins and then the redhead sat back on the seat. There was no room for Roxas to sit, and Axel noticed that as well. Smirking superciliously, Axel patted on his lap,

"Come here, Roxas."

Hiding his blush behind his hands, Roxas sidled over where Axel was. His boyfriend pulled him onto his lap and Roxas took a deep breath, "So, um, what do we do?"

Axel laughed into his neck, "We smile? Have you never taken pictures before?"

"No, I thought, you know, we'd…pose or something," Roxas felt stupid as soon as he said it, but Axel grinned. Roxas glanced up at the screen to himself and Axel looking into it. He tilted his head, and the Roxas on the screen did so as well. Roxas wished that he could just take off the wig, just for this moment. He sighed inwardly; he had no choice now anyway.

"Smile, Roxas."

That was the first time someone had said that to him. Just smile. For a picture. He'd never done that before. It was either 'look sexy' or 'look like you're about to blah blah blah'. _Just smile? _He cracked a weak grin and the light flashed. Axel poked him at the side and he jerked on his lap,

"Hey, give me a real smile, huh?" Axel kissed his cheek, "For me?"

"I'll try," Why was it when he was in front of the camera that he felt like he had forgotten how to smile. He looked at the screen, then at the camera, and as the countdown started, he smiled as confidently as he could,

The camera flashed.

"You're cute," Axel beamed. "Two more pictures to go."

"Don't you have another word in your vocabulary?" Roxas joked, snuggling against Axel's chest. He should've been more careful on where he was sitting because the redhead suddenly hissed a quick intake of breath, "Sorry."

"I do," Axel managed to say, "Would you like me to say that you're looking delightfully fuckable?"

"Better," Roxas stuck out his tongue and Axel licked the back of his neck. "Ew, Axel!" He wiped the back of his neck with his hand and he nearly lost his breath when Axel crushed him with a hug.

"Axel, you're gonna kill me," Roxas burst out laughing. The countdown for the next picture started.

That one had Roxas in mid-laughter and Axel's face was out of the screen because Roxas's hand had pushed him out. "Don't tickle meee!" Roxas was now sitting sideways on Axel's lap and he suddenly fell silent as Axel's eyes fell upon him. The redhead's thumb brushed against Roxas's lips,

"Helloooo, beautiful," He kissed him.

The fourth flash came but Axel didn't stop. Roxas co uld faintly taste white chocolate and candy-canes mixed together as Axel kissed him. He had to admit that he liked it. He almost found it comical that they were making out in a photo booth. Axel's hands found Roxas's waist and he embraced the boy even closer, if possible.

Roxas's fingers dug into Axel's jacket and, with a devious gleam in his eyes, he squirmed a little on Axel's lap, purposely brushing against the bulge in the redhead's pants. Wasn't this what Axel wanted all the time? And no one was looking anyway… _I think it's time we flipped things around._

Axel's breath hitching in his throat was like music to Roxas's ears, "W-wait, Rox—" He stopped midsentence as Roxas grinded against his crotch. It was an arousing sight; Axel threw his head back and groaned softly, "We're in the middle of the theatre, dammit."

"So? You started it," Roxas said childishly, kissing Axel's neck. Axel couldn't say that he didn't like this sudden change of attitude. Axel's hands clutched desperately at the front of Roxas's shirt and the 'brunet' could feel something hard poking at his leg. He almost laughed out loud, "Excited?"

"You're such a cocktease," Axel mumbled, his forehead creasing with worry, "But what about…?" He touched Roxas's back. Wouldn't it trigger something? Roxas shook his head, continuing his ministrations on Axel.

"The only thing you should be worried about," Roxas whispered hotly in Axel's ear, making the redhead shiver in anticipation, "Is how loud you're going to be. You might wanna keep it down; don't want people coming in here to see what's going on."

Axel gnawed on his bottom lip, keeping a wary green eye on Roxas as the other's fingers started to toy with Axel's belt. "So not as innocent as you look," He managed to say as Roxas slipped the tips of his fingers down the waistband of the older boy's jeans. Axel grasped hold of him, "Roxas, you're gonna make me—"

"I know," Roxas said firmly, and he tried to wriggle his hands down even further but Axel still had a tight hold on them.

"I don't have another pair of jeans," Axel muttered.

"I've got money," Roxas smirked, "S'that all you're worried about? I thought you _wanted _this," Axel just made a face before ferociously attacking Roxas's mouth with his own. Parting his lips slightly, he trailed his tongue along the inside of Roxas's,

"I want it."

_Well, then, _Roxas thought as he allowed Axel to ravish the hot cavern which was also known as his mouth. Axel's scarlet hair prickled his skin as he started to suck on Roxas's neck. The boy let a small moan escape his lips, making sure that no one outside the phone booth could hear them. Axel's jeans were nearly down to his knees now. Pushing his hand further down Axel's flaming boxers, his warm fingers made contact with the boy's erection.

It coaxed a low, whispered moan from Axel. Roxas could already feel his own jeans tightening at the sound. Axel nuzzled his neck, encouraging him to continue. It was hard to move his hand, but he managed. Taking hold of Axel's stiff arousal, he slowly shifted his grip from the tip to the shaft.

Axel's hand started to reach up for Roxas's hair, and the boy felt it. He hastily grabbed his hand and yanked it back down, ignoring the look that Axel sent him. He gave Axel an experimental squeeze, but that caused the redhead to bite down on his shoulder. Roxas winced.

"Ouch."

"S-sorry, Rox—" Axel instantly bit down on his tongue as Roxas guided his hand up and down the redhead's length. It was after another few minutes of heavily making out and silenced mewls of pleasure that Axel came. Roxas could feel his entire skinny frame shuddering and in an effort to keep quiet, Axel forced his lips onto Roxas's. They pressed against each other, panting softly. Roxas pulled his hand out, pouting at the stickiness around his fingers. It felt warm, and now the whole box smelled like cum.

And there was still that problem in his pants…

In a split second, Roxas suddenly found himself forced down against the seat and Axel was towering over him. Roxas blinked up; he already found it amazing that they could manage all this in one small photo booth. Roxas turned away worriedly, "Did I do something wrong? I thought…I mean, I've never done that before—" He silenced himself when he felt Axel sliding his hand down the front of his jeans.

Axel's lips lifted in a sinister smirk, "Nothing wrong. It's my turn now, Roxas."

Unfortunately, Roxas was unable to keep his volume down. With Axel's left hand roaming across his chest and _teasing_ his nipples, he could barely think. Then the redhead's other hand was touching him _down there…_ Roxas arched his back pleadingly,

"_Axel, _I need to…" He gasped loudly as Axel removed his hand from his boxers for a second and rocked his hips into Roxas, earning a strained mewl from him.

Axel scoffed, "And you wanted _me _to keep it down." He rubbed his hands against Roxas's member even harder and the 'brunet's fingers started to weave themselves into Axel's hair. Roxas felt his stomach pooling with warmth, and he knew he was going to come soon. He whimpered as Axel latched his lips onto his again,

"Ax…el…"

The moment that Axel ran his wet tongue on the outside of Roxas's ear, the boy couldn't hold it any longer. He could feel his orgasm approaching quickly and his head rolled along the back of the chair. His body wracked with pleasure and he spilled his seed over Axel's hand with a long sigh.

"Adorable," He heard Axel say.

"I'm not," Roxas argued wearily, letting Axel collapse on top of him. He felt the redhead shifting around, pulling his jeans back up. Then,

"Are you two done taking pictures?" The two of them heard a girl's snappy voice from outside the photo booth. Axel's green eyes widened and Roxas covered his mouth to keep from laughing. Wiping their hands on whatever they could find, Axel called out,

"Yeah, almost done. Hold on."

He grabbed the slide of pictures that had come out of the machine a while ago, immensely grateful that they had finished taking pictures before going on to giving each other hand jobs. Or else those would have some _interesting _pictures. Roxas yanked his own pants back up as Axel fiddled with his belt buckle. Axel hooked his arm around Roxas's shoulders, ignoring the strong scent of cum wafting around the booth, and walked out with a cocky smile.

"Mmm, it's _all_ yours," Axel smirked at the girl and her boyfriend, earning a glare from the latter. Just as the two entered the booth, Roxas heard the girl squealing in a disgusted tone,

"Eww! It smells!" Immediate realization dawned on the girl, "They – they…ewwww!"

Axel glanced back with an expression that clearly read: _I don't fucking care,_ "Aw, was it _that _obvious?" He let his voice drip heavily with sarcasm, "Let's get outta here before they catch us," And as the redhead half-dragged Roxas out of the theatre, the two teenagers did their best to leave without erupting out into sudden laughter.

* * *

"You didn't have to."

They were now sitting in a café, clad in new jeans and boxers. They had spent a few good hours looking around in stores. Roxas had a few bucks to spare and he willingly bought himself and Axel a new pair. Roxas shrugged indifferently, propping his right ankle over his knee, "It was nothing. You don't wanna walk around with cum in your pants, did ya?"

Faintly, he reminded himself next time to be more careful. Pubes never lied, and he knew his hair was supposed to be blond. It was a good thing that Axel hadn't been looking down there while he was giving him a hand job.

Axel averted his gaze, "True," He patted down on his jacket pockets and pulled out a green lollipop. Roxas could sense himself smiling as the redhead stuck the lollipop into his mouth. Axel's eyes met with his, and Roxas blushed as Axel smirked around the stick. "I still want to know more about you."

"Hm," Roxas leaned back against his chair, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know everything!"

"You can't know everything," Roxas grinned; it was ironic because it was close to the truth. Axel licked his lollipop as he tried to think. Roxas waited.

"Favorite band?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, "I barely listen to music," This statement almost made Axel's lollipop fall out of his mouth. He gripped the table,

"You don't listen to music at all?" Axel looked appalled, "Why? Is it because you don't like music or because you don't have time?"

"I…don't have time?" Roxas sounded really unsure. Axel yanked out his iPod, touching the screen to make it come to life. The first song Axel showed him, Roxas read: _Knives and Pens _by Black Veil Brides. Roxas thought it said _penis _at first, but then he realized it didn't.

Then after that, Axel spammed him with a few Yellowcard songs, then Escape the Fate, The Offspring, Sugarcult, and some All Time Low. They didn't even get through one quarter of his songs. It seemed as if the redhead's music ranged mostly in the rock genre.

Then, out of nowhere, Axel started singing, dropping his voice to a sensual moan at certain parts. He rubbed his leg up against his boyfriend a few times, to Roxas's greatest surprise and pleasure,

"_You love the way that I tease, I love the way that you breathe. I touched your **oooh**, you touched my **ahh~** it was the craziest thing."_

"_You're_ crazy," Roxas grinned at the lyrics.

"D'you like it?" Axel shoved his iPod back into his pocket. Roxas nodded hastily,

"I _like _music, don't get me wrong. I just hardly listen to it. I should get myself one of those though," Roxas made a mental note to buy an iPod the next time he passed a music store, "You can send me some of your songs or something. They're not bad."

Axel winked at him, "I know."

Roxas grinned, "Favorite…food?"

"You mean like… actual food or sweet things?"

"Both," Roxas propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he started gazing intently at Axel.

"I eat everything," Axel continued to suck on his lollipop, "I'm not too picky with food. But with sweets, it comes down to two things."

"What two things?" Roxas asked, curious.

"Your sweet cum and–"

"AXEL!"

The redhead threw his head back, chuckling, "Okay, okay. On a serious note, I like ice-cream. If you're gonna ask what flavour, it's sea-salt. And if you've never tried it, I'll buy some for you right now," He had noticed Roxas's puzzled expression, which told him that the boy had never tried that before. He waved the waitress over, "Can we have two sea-salt ice-creams?"

"Is that all?" The waitress eyed Axel, then Roxas, giving the younger a warm smile. Axel briefly glanced over at Roxas, who shook his head.

"Yep. That's all."

"Alright then. It'll be here in a sec."

The moment the waitress left, Axel pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and he jutted his bottom lip out, "My lollipop's almost done."

Roxas smirked, "Sucking on it hard?"

Axel laughed, a perverted smile on his face, "Nah. Very softly, actually. I don't want to finish it too fast and all that's left is a limp stick."

Roxas connected his forehead to the edge of the table, groaning. A soft tinkle of the bell by the door made Roxas peer behind Axel to see who was there. It was Marluxia, but Larxene was not with him. The rose-haired boy caught Roxas's gaze immediately and his eyes lit up. Axel glanced behind as well,

"Marley?" He sounded surprised.

"Axie! Roku!" Marluxia sauntered over, ignoring Axel as the redhead shot daggers at him with his eyes. Roxas stared at him for an explanation and Marluxia raised his hands up defensively, "I didn't stalk you guys here, I swear," He knelt down beside their table, resting his chin on the edge, "Me and Larx got into a fight."

"Again?"

"Again."

Axel sighed, "I don't even want to know what for this time." At this, Marluxia shrugged apathetically,

"I don't really care this time. Not my fault. I'm not saying sorry first this time," He looked Roxas up and down, a creepy smile crawling on his face, "You're looking rather delicious today, Roku."

Axel glared at him, "You know, just cause you don't have a girlfriend right now, doesn't mean you can hit on mine."

"I'm a girl?" Roxas asked, feeling a little miffed. "I can take care of myself. I'm not that weak, you know," He turned to Marluxia, "Leave me alone."

Axel just smirked.

"I'm just being friendly," Marluxia grinned devilishly, "Plus, I'm in my flirty mood. Roku's so cute today that I could rape him."

Roxas didn't say anything to that. Axel seemed to sense that there was something wrong; Roxas's face had fallen. He grasped hold of Roxas's hand and sent Marluxia a testy look, "Marley…"

"What? I could do it while he's sleeping on the bus or whatever. We'd have such a good time that he won't be able to walk," He winked at Roxas, causing the boy to look away. Marluxia was weird whenever he tried to flirt.

Axel scowled, "Only I can do Rox so hard that he can't walk, commit that to memory," He kicked Marluxia from under the table, causing the other to flinch, "And plus, it'll be consensual, because that's the best kind of sex."

"Alright, alright, I was just saying, Axel. Geez," Marluxia rubbed his foot, frowning. Axel turned to Roxas, who suddenly could not stop smiling, and whispered,

"Don't ever sleep on the bus again when Marley's around though. Just in case."

Marluxia pretended to look offended, "Yeah, well, you two have fun on your little date. Don't let me ruin it now. I'll just go home and…" He paused, searching for something witty to say, but when he couldn't think of anything, his shoulders slumped dejectedly, "Never mind. I'll see you around. Bye, guys."

Marluxia bought his drink and left. The moment he did, almost as if perfect timing, a bus passed by the window and again, the timing was so great, Axel looked out. So did Roxas. He saw his blond hair and his face plastered on the poster of the bus. _Oh, great, _he thought.

"Way to ruin a perfect date," Axel said cheerfully.

Once again, Roxas didn't know whether or not to be offended by this. The date was going perfectly well, or so he liked to think, but now Axel was insulting him.

"Do you really hate him that much?" Roxas said quietly. The sudden change in his tone took Axel aback. He leaned back against the seat as the bus drove away, carrying Roxas DeRenzis away with it.

"I don't _hate _him," Axel said, thanking the waitress as she brought their ice-cream, "Let's just say I greatly dislike him."

"Why?"

"Didn't we already go through this?" Axel scooped up some of the blue ice cream and licked it off his spoon, "I think he's a slut and that's pretty much all there is to it. There are just some people that I look at and then I just figure that I won't like them. He looks like a cocky person anyway, the way he looks when he models."

"What if he didn't have a choice?" Roxas asked, almost desperately, "Maybe he's told to model like that."

Axel started to look uncomfortable, "Well…I don't know then."

"You've never even _met _him," Roxas tried saying.

"I met him once. And he didn't even bother to look at me when I was talking to him."

_Oh, yeah… _Roxas thought mournfully, _but that's because I didn't want you to recognize me! Is that it?! _"Well, for all you know, you could like him. I don't know; learn to like him?"

"You make it sound like it's a big deal to you," Axel eyed him curiously, "You like him that much or something?"

"Not in that way," Roxas corrected, "I just think that, you know, he might not be that bad of a guy that you think he is."

Axel buried his face into the palm of his hands wearily, sighing, "I'd really rather we not talk about this," _Every time I think about Roxas DeRenzis, I get this uneasy feeling._

Roxas dropped his gaze, "O-okay," Quietly, he spooned the ice-cream into his mouth cautiously and swallowed. His heart felt heavy, but the ice-cream made it a little better, "I like this," He mumbled.

Axel watched him as he finished off the rest of his bowl. _Great, _he thought to himself. _I just made the date go bad. I always do this. Congratulations, Axel, you asshole. _He beat himself up for making Roxas upset. _Maybe we shouldn't have done that, uh, thing in the theatre. I dunno what to say!_

"I'll walk you home," Axel offered.

"Okay."

Axel paid for the ice-cream and for the walk back to Demyx's apartment, neither of them exchanged words. The snow had stopped, and Roxas had put his hood on again. They were holding hands, but the walk was rather uneventful. Roxas felt like he had ruined the date just by bringing up Roxas DeRenzis.

Now he wished he hadn't.

The only good thing was that he found he still had that pleasant sensation in his heart when he kissed Axel goodbye.

"I'm sorry," He whispered as he pulled away. He wasn't sure what else to say. He hoped Axel wasn't too annoyed over what he said. He smiled blissfully when Axel planted another kiss on him.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," Even though he said that, he still felt it was his fault. But he didn't want to play hot-potato with apologies so he just left it at that, "Love you, Roxas."

"I love you too."

* * *

A good few weeks passed, and Sephiroth was finding it strange how Roxas had _still _not called him back. Perhaps he was busy. There was probably some really good reason why he wasn't calling. From his hotel room, he stared at the phone across from him, glaring at it with contempt. He didn't like this. Not one bit.

_Hm, Roxas is forcing me to do this._

Slamming his foot down on the ground, he swiveled around in his chair to face the door, "Kadaj! Come here!" His assistant took his time in answering his call, which only caused him to become even more impatient. Another man with silver hair down to his shoulders answered the door,

"Yes?" He didn't sound too enthusiastic.

"I need you to fly back," Sephiroth crossed his legs, "I can't because I've got meetings and other things to go to and they stretch all the way to April or May. I need you to check on my nephew. Roxas DeRenzis—"

"I know who he is," Kadaj said, exasperated, "May I ask _why_?"

"Something's not right," Sephiroth stood up, flipping his hair over his shoulder. It got in the way sometimes, "How soon can you fly back?"

Kadaj eyed the stack of papers behind him that he still had to sort out, "In a few days?"

"Do it as soon as possible."

* * *

**His Last Walk: **Dundundunnn. Thanks for reading ;D MERRY CHRISTMAS ... EVE! And to some others who live on the opposite side of the world, **MERRY CHRISTMAS, FANFICTION!!**

Thank you so so so so much, readers and reviewers. 400 reviews! O: ! You guys are absolutely the best! **THANKS~  
**_I think I was gonna say something important to you guys, or rather, write something, but I've forgotten. ;_; Sorry. LOVE YOU ALL~_ BAD MEMORY IS BAD!


	17. XVII

**Summary****:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning:** Oh yes. I did a big time skip. Dramatic stuff and misunderstanding. Allow me a bit of a cliche moment. It'll probably clear up in the next chapter though. Originally, I wanted Kadaj to be a bigger creep but I couldn't do it. LOL.

**Pairings:** AkuRoku main, side Zemyx, SoRiku. Oh, these mainstream couples. xD

**A/N: **I'M REALLY FREAKING LAZY NOWADAYS. WTF.

**

* * *

**

**XVII**

Christmas break was almost over. For the most part, Roxas did not see Axel for most of the holiday due to of the amount of photo shoots he had to do. Roxas got Demyx to Photoshop some of them since Axel had marked another hickey on his neck. The photographers didn't say much about it; Roxas knew that he could trust these people. They weren't exactly on extremely friendly terms with Sephiroth. Just acquaintances.

He didn't see Axel much during the holidays. He had gotten a Christmas present from Axel and all of his friends. They had all chipped in money to buy him that iPod he wanted so much. Roxas gave it to Axel over the break so that the redhead could download a bunch of songs for him and then give it back to him after the two-week break.

What Roxas didn't understand was why he was given so much work to do during the break. Because he had so many photo shoots, he was never allowed to go out with his friends. It was near the end of the holiday, and he was _still _modeling. But this time, he knew he was going to enjoy this.

When he first heard that he was going to be in a basket, his first thought went to the Little Red Riding Hood basket and he thought: _Wouldn't that be a bit too small for me?_ But when he saw the hot-air balloon basket, he felt immensely relieved. As he stood by the side, clad in a yellow v-neck sweater and denim jeans, he watched the dozens of hundreds of red balloons floating above the basket.

"If you please, Roxas, sit in there."

Roxas blinked his eyes once before striding towards the basket. He stepped in and as soon as he did so, he was tossed a thick, blue-green scarf. He caught it in his arms and glanced down at it, "Wear this?"

"Yep," The female photographer propped her camera on the stand. Roxas wrapped the scarf loosely around his neck and sat down. The tips of his hair could barely be seen over the edge of the basket. The photographer laughed kindly, "Okay, Roxas, kneel. I think that'll be better for the both of us."

"I think so too," Roxas smiled gratefully, getting onto his knees. Demyx wasn't here though. Apparently, he was trying to find a Valentine's Day present for Zexion, even though it was a month away. Now that Roxas thought about it, this was going to be his first Valentine's Day spent with his first boyfriend. He smiled.

"Alright, Roxas, just look up at the camera. It's gonna be a quick shoot; last one for today."

"Okay," Roxas said happily. He actually liked this shoot— which was rare. And then maybe he'd have time to go to Axel's place. The last time he had gone, he had a fun time with Sunshine, Axel's cat. He was a big fur ball of fun; that was for sure. He scrolled his deep blue eyes towards the camera.

"Just do your stuff, Roxas. It'll turn out good."

Roxas let a shadow of a smile cross his face and the lights flashed. It was almost a perfect picture. Unfortunately for him, the balloons were a little blurred and he had to take it again. Twenty times they tried to take the picture, but it never turned out right. By the end of the photo shoot, Roxas was hot, bothered, and he was sick of the lights flashing in his eyes. The photographer actually apologized to him, but he just shook it away.

"It's fine. I'm used to it," he lied, "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Thank you, Roxas," the photographer beamed at him, "You can keep the clothes."

He returned the grin, "I know," He yawned, a little drained from the work. Demyx wasn't going to be back anytime soon, he knew that much, so now he had to find a way to get back home. The bus maybe? Demyx had taught him how last month, but Roxas wasn't sure he was up for another ride, especially when there could be girls that could attack him at any time. He gulped at the thought.

Running his hand through his blond hair, he quickly stepped out of the basket and stretched his legs. They felt cramped up after kneeling for an hour and a bit. He shook his feet a bit to get rid of the pins and needles sticking into them. He saw something silver from the corner of his eye and that was all that was needed to make him turn in horror.

_Sephiroth…?_

"He wanted me to keep an eye on you."

Roxas squinted at the man with silver hair. It wasn't Sephiroth. His uncle had longer hair, and this man was too young to be his uncle. Plus, their eyes and their voices were different but if Roxas hadn't scrutinized him hard enough, he could have been mistaken. He was one of Sephiroth's assistants, but that was all he knew. He wasn't familiar with all of them.

Playing dumb, he asked, "Who's 'he'?"

The man rolled his eyes, "Sephiroth. Your _uncle_? My name is Kadaj. He sent me to watch over you."

"Ka-wha? What kind of name is that?" Roxas tugged at the scarf nervously. _Sephiroth knows something is up if he's sending one of his assistants to keep an eye on me. This isn't…permanent, is it? I need to go back to school in two days! No. More importantly, Axel can't know. What do I do?_ "Watch over me? You mean spy."

Kadaj glared at him, "Mind your manners."

Roxas shrugged, pulling on a brave frontier, but inside, he felt panicked and sick to his stomach. He felt nervous bile in his throat and he swallowed thickly, "Well, I don't know why you're here. I'm doing okay if that's all he wanted to know."

Kadaj lazily stepped forward, causing Roxas to take a hesitant step back, "He seems to be suspicious that you haven't been returning his phone calls."

"I've been busy," Roxas said hastily.

Kadaj sent him a wary look,

"Even so. I've got no choice anyway, kid. Believe me; I'd rather go back than be here. Hurry up and get your things. We're going back to the hotel and I'm not leaving until I know you're there safe," He found Roxas's Mickey Mouse duffle bag and grabbed it, snapping his fingers impatiently, "Come on, kid. I haven't got all day."

Roxas balled his hands into fists as he tried to think of something. The hotel? He had checked out months ago, but maybe if he was lucky, they would still have the room empty. Plus, he had paid them to keep things quiet. He hoped they remembered.

"You have a car?" Roxas asked anxiously. Kadaj nodded, pointing at the limousine in front of them. Roxas stared at it; he hadn't ridden in one in such a long time. Taking his bag from Kadaj, he slowly got into the car. As he did, he faintly remembered the saying: _Don't get into cars with strangers. _A little too late now, but he knew of Kadaj. Luckily for him, nothing happened on the way to the hotel.

Roxas walked inside hurriedly before Kadaj could catch up to him. The bellboy recognized him, "Roxas DeRenzis? I thought you—"

"Yeah, I did," Roxas interrupted him, throwing a fearful back glance where Kadaj was slowly approaching, "Listen. I need the room back just for today and maybe tomorrow. D'you think…?"

"Ask." The boy pointed at the desk and Roxas ran for it. The woman at the counter recognized him as well and her eyes widened. Roxas already knew what she was going to say and he waved his hand to stop her from doing so. Kadaj was already inside the building,

"There's a problem. I need the room back."

"I can't do that, Roxas," Those words were devastating. Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down.

"Just for today," he kept his voice from shaking, "I need it just for today and you can have the room back. I won't ask for it again. _Please, _you don't understand. I need the room."

"Is there a problem?" Roxas could almost feel Kadaj's breath on his neck. It sent a shiver that felt like a cold finger running down his spine and he whirled around to face him,

"N-no…" Roxas felt something being pushed into his back and he realized that the woman had given him the card. She seemed indifferent to the situation but Roxas was grateful for it. "Thanks," He gave her a shaky smile, "I _knew _I dropped it here this morning when I rushed out. Thank you." He supposed it was a good thing that he was a famous model.

He wished Kadaj would just leave. He felt like he was being overly analyzed. Nothing was in the room and if Kadaj checked the closets and the drawers, he would find out that Roxas had moved out. Of course, he could always lie about it but that would make Sephiroth even _more _suspicious. They stepped into the elevator together. Kadaj was keeping his word; he was _definitely _keeping a wary eye on Roxas. It scared the blond a little bit.

"You're invading my personal space," Roxas's voice faltered as Kadaj's snake-like, green eyes moved onto him. It only made the silver-haired man shuffle closer towards Roxas and the blond pressed himself into the corner of the elevator.

_Ding~_

Just as Roxas tried to dash out of the elevator, he felt Kadaj's hand on the back of his scarf. A small tug almost caused him to choke, "Why are you in such a hurry?" Kadaj's voice was soft. Roxas stopped in his tracks; it wasn't like he could move anywhere anyway.

"I'm not." In a steadier pace, he walked towards his old room. Sliding the card into the door's slit, the red light turned green and he opened the door. It was just as he had left it, if not a little bit clean. Roxas nervously scratched his head, "They must've cleaned it this morning."

"Hm."

Roxas walked inside and stood by the door, "Well, I'm here now. You can leave."

Kadaj smirked, "Not quite," he pushed Roxas aside roughly and before the blond could protest, Kadaj sat on the couch. Swearing under his breath, Roxas closed the door and locked it. Kadaj idly examined his fingernails, "You're in a hurry to get rid of me, aren't you? Something you're hiding?"

"Maybe I just don't like you," Roxas shot back. Kadaj ignored him, trailing his fingertip along the edge of the side-table. Roxas held his breath; there was probably dust collecting there. Kadaj noticed it too and his eyes narrowed.

Just then, Roxas's phone rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he read the name. _Axel Kurosairi. _

Roxas didn't know what to do. He couldn't answer it, not when Kadaj was there. Plus, Axel knew how to make him say embarrassing things over the phone. He knew he was blushing madly right now; he could feel his ears burning. He let the phone ring, and Kadaj made a face, "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"No. It's just…some telemarketer person."

The phone stopped ringing and Roxas sighed in relief. He hoped Axel wouldn't call again. Turning his phone off, Roxas spoke up loudly, "I'm going to take a shower. Try not to break anything."

"Yes, _mother_," Kadaj sneered. Roxas rolled his eyes and stepped into the bathroom with absolutely no change of clothes. He didn't know why he had said that. It was to avoid questioning, though. He let the water run and poked his head in to make it look like he had taken a shower. A good seven minutes later, he stepped out of the steaming bathroom to see Kadaj at the door.

He blinked, "Can I help you?"

"Would you care to explain _why _it would seem like you're not living here anymore?" Kadaj started, taking a step forward. Again, Roxas stepped back onto the scarf, which was now lying on the ground. Without thinking, he knelt down, picked it up, and stood back up. "There's dust collecting everywhere and your clothes are missing as well."

"You went through my closets?" Roxas asked angrily, but he was silenced as Kadaj's hand slammed on the wall beside him. Roxas found himself trapped between Kadaj's lean body and the washroom wall. He took a sharp intake of breath.

"So what if I did?" he let out a bark of laughter, which made Roxas jump in shock again, "You're fun to scare, Roxas."

_Secret's out, _Roxas thought. _Well, not really. _Kadaj only knew that he wasn't living in the hotel anymore. _Quick, think of a lie. _"I moved out last week," Roxas looked away, "Demyx is letting me live at his place."

"Your uncle told you to stay here, if I remember correctly," Kadaj said, leaning in closer. Roxas just wanted to disappear into the wall, but he had to be brave. He wasn't going to let Sephiroth's _minion _scare him.

"I'm aware of that," He retorted, "But it's suffocating, staying in the same hotel for a whole year. Is he cutting off all my freedom?"

"You're to move back here tomorrow," Kadaj stated, ignoring him.

_Like hell I am, _Roxas thought, "Alright. I will."

Kadaj stepped back a little, "I'll be calling the hotel to make sure you've moved back. If not…well, you know what happens when your uncle's upset," His lips curled. Roxas suddenly felt cold. Just as Kadaj was about to leave the washroom, he instinctively held onto the back of the man's shirt, causing him to turn back around,

"W-wait." Roxas dropped his gaze to the scarf in his hands, "Don't…don't tell Sephiroth I moved out. He'll be mad."

"Why should I listen to you?" Kadaj asked, crossing his arms. "Sephiroth pays me to do this. What are _you _going to do to keep me from saying anything?"

"I'll pay you too," Roxas blurted out. Kadaj suddenly looked interested.

"With what?" Roxas dropped the scarf onto the ground in panic as Kadaj started advancing towards him again. The man stepped on the scarf, not caring, and Roxas found himself pinned against the wall. He felt Kadaj's hot breath in his ear, "I don't want _money_."

Roxas didn't struggle. Kadaj didn't seem _too _dangerous. It was almost like the man was playing with him. Taking a chance, he said in a shaky voice, "I don't…don't know what else I can pay you with."

"Your body, Roxas?" There was a sinking feeling in Roxas's stomach and his heart clenched. He heard short breathy laughs coming from Kadaj and he pulled away to see that the man was smiling maniacally, "Amusing. You can't do it. You're afraid." Moving away from Roxas, he muttered, "I'll be nice just this once. Sephiroth won't know that you moved out, but if you don't move back in, you're in a whole lot of trouble, kid."

"I—okay."

"I'll take my leave." Smirking triumphantly, he brushed a strand of hair from Roxas's eyes, causing Roxas to flinch back. "Be good, Rox-as. You wouldn't want me to come again, and I won't be alone next time, you can be sure of that."

As he left, Roxas slumped to the ground. His hands were shaking, but his mind was a little bit clearer now that the man was gone. There was no way he was moving back in here, but he was sure that the hotel employees would keep their promise. He didn't like Kadaj at all. He was almost as bad as Sephiroth. _Almost. _

* * *

"Don't touch my hair," Axel snapped as Marluxia tried to reach for it again. It was the first day back and they were all in their usual place; the boys' washroom on the first floor. Larxene wasn't at school that day, so it was only the boys. Marluxia frowned,

"You let Roku touch it."

"Yes, because he's someone important to me," Axel draped his arm over Roxas's shoulders, causing the blond to blush. Every thought of Sephiroth and Kadaj had been driven out. He had told Demyx what had happened, but because Roxas wasn't _too _worried about it, Demyx decided that he shouldn't be either.

"So you're saying I'm not important to you?" Marluxia pretended to look threatening.

Axel laughed, shaking his head, "Sorry, Marley." He turned to Roxas, who was snuggling into his chest, "By the way, why didn't you answer my call over the holiday?"

"Call?" Roxas suddenly remembered, "Oh! Um, I left my phone at Demyx's…and I went out to buy…groceries and that's why. Sorry."

"Hm, okay," Axel turned to Riku and started talking to him instead. Roxas nervously bit on the inside of his cheek. Now that he thought about it, Axel seemed to be talking less. Ever since that date, he tried to not bring Roxas DeRenzis up, but Axel wasn't acting like he normally did. And Roxas didn't know why.

As the bell rang to signal lunch ending, Roxas held onto Axel's arm to prevent him from escaping. Now it was just the two of them in the washroom, and Axel looked curious. "Roxas?"

"Axel, you're not m-mad or anything, are you?"

Confused, the redhead stared at Roxas, "Mad? Why would I be mad?"

Roxas let go of his arm. He didn't even know why he had brought this up. Axel didn't know anything, so he shouldn't be mad. He shook his head, attempting to smile, "Never mind. It's okay. I'll see you after school, alright?"

"Yeah," Axel grinned, still a little bewildered, "You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Roxas beamed, then it faltered, "Can I ask you another random question?"

"_That_ was a random question," Axel laughed, "But yeah, go ahead. Ask."

Roxas knew this was going to sound stupid, but he really wanted to know why Axel hated Roxas DeRenzis, "Do you like…blonds?"

Axel's mouth instantly widened into a smile, "What? You're kidding me, right? What kind of question is that?" Seeing Roxas's serious expression, his smile wavered, "Yeah, Roxas, I like blonds. To be honest, I have a weird fetish for light colored hair. You're not planning to dye your hair blond, are you?"

Roxas was taken aback, "Huh? Oh, no, I was just asking. I'm…not dyeing my hair or anything. So…you're _not _mad?" He wanted to make sure.

Axel kept his eyes on Roxas for a while, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. Axel's arm found Roxas's waist and he drew him flush against his chest. He interrupted Roxas's protests by kissing him full on the lips. He brought his hand up to cradle the back of Roxas's neck and the kiss lasted for merely a few seconds. Roxas pulled away to see Axel looking at him through half-closed eyes.

"Silly Roxas. Why in the world would I be mad at you?"

Roxas turned away, "I'm paranoid. Sue me."

Axel laughed, ruffling Roxas's hair affectionately, "You're so weird, Roxas. I don't even know what the hell's going on, but I'm pretty sure I can never be mad at you."

* * *

"Hahaha, shit. I didn't memorize my lines," Axel stared at his group members, who indefinitely stared back, "Well, how was I supposed to know that we were presenting Macbeth on the first day we come back? Who _does _ that?"

"Our teacher does," One of the girls in his group muttered. "You've got about two minutes to get those lines memorized. And _you're _always the one telling us to get things memorized."

"Shut up, Paine," Axel grumbled, looking at the lines, "Or should I say, Lady Macbeth? Who wants to be married to _you_?" He dodged a fist aiming for his shoulder. He read the line again, "_My dearest love_—I have to call you _'my dearest love_'? That's gross."

"_You're _gross," Paine snapped, "Hurry up. We're almost up."

"I hope I don't have to kiss you," Axel said testily.

"I don't think we'll have to. Remember, everything I do is acting. Nothing is serious, so if for one moment you think I'm hitting on you, I'm not."

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm already taken. It's bad enough that we have to act lovey-dovey with each other," he started scribbling his lines onto his arms and just as he finished, the teacher called them up. His other group members stood by the side, as they were not needed yet, and Paine started to read her 'letter from Macbeth'. Axel rolled his eyes towards the clock above the door. Just a few more minutes before school ended…

"_Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry 'Hold, hold_!'" Paine held her hand in the air and paused. Axel made a face, not sure what she was doing.

Then he felt someone poking at his side, "It's your turn, stupid genius. Step onto stage."

"Oh," Axel mumbled and he stepped forward to the front of the classroom. Paine resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes and she turned around, masking a look of surprise,

"_Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both…_" Paine's voice droned on and Axel sighed. _This is gonna be a looong class…_

* * *

"Roxas, would you bring the attendance down? If you're done all your work, that is."

"I'm done," Roxas smiled at his teacher. Taking the yellow folder from Ms. Gainsborough's hands, he walked out the door and headed for the direction of the attendance office. He wondered which class Axel had right now, and which room he was in. He wouldn't mind passing by the classroom and waving to his boyfriend. It was rather amusing to see the bored expression on Axel's face instantly light up.

As he turned the corner, he spotted the familiar black beanie on top of the bully's head and he hastily changed directions, "Not this way," he muttered to himself. He didn't want to encounter Seifer again, and this wasn't because he thought he couldn't handle him. He just didn't want trouble. He started down the hallway again.

As he passed by the trophies won by the school's athletics, his eyes suddenly caught flaming crimson hair through one of the classroom door windows. A grin pulled forcibly at his lips and he stepped a little closer.

He felt his heart drop all the way to his stomach, and if possible, even further down.

There was no way that this… girl was _so close _to Axel. There was no way that she was leaning in _even closer _towards his boyfriend. And…and…there was no _fucking _way that she was touching his hair. Stroking it, to be more exact, in a loving way. And Axel wasn't doing anything to stop her! In fact, as the two teenagers moved slightly, Roxas could see he was smiling.

No way. This wasn't happening. Roxas stepped back, remembering Axel's words: _Don't touch my hair. _

_You let Roku touch it._

_Yes, because he's someone important to me._

Roxas could touch it because he was important to Axel, but then what about this girl? Was she important to him too? The 'brunet' felt a flood of the emotion called jealousy entering him and filling his entire body. He felt like his insides were burning. He didn't _hate _the girl; he didn't even know her. The only thing that made sense to him right now was: _GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM AXEL!_

He could feel the folder in his hands slowly giving away as he crushed it with his fingers. Relaxing his grip, he tried taking a deep breath. There must be an explanation for this. Yes. There was probably a good explanation for why Axel was doing this. In front of the whole class too! It left Roxas thoroughly confused and he blinked rapidly at the lights above him.

_I'll ask Axel about it after school. There's a good reason for it, I know there is._

His legs felt weak but he pushed himself towards the attendance office. He didn't like this feeling. He was already a little stressed out with Kadaj's visit, and now _this. _He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

* * *

"Yes!" Axel pumped his fist into the air just as the bell rang, "School's done for the day. Later, guys!" He ignored Paine's scowl and dashed for the door. He had screwed up his lines a bunch of times but the teacher didn't seem to care. At least he was dramatic about it.

As he stuffed his books into his locker, he tried to remember what homework he had. But he didn't want to think about it so he closed his locker without another thought about it, only to be faced with Tidus. He raised an eyebrow at his blond neighbour, "What?"

"You dropped this outside your house today," Tidus rolled his eyes, holding out Axel's keys, "Thought you ought to know, but I couldn't find you anywhere today. Here," he tossed them to Axel and the redhead caught them with one hand. He didn't even notice that they had been missing.

"Oh, thanks," Axel stuffed them in his pocket. Then he snapped his fingers in remembrance, "Oh, yeah! My mom wants to ask your mom if she wants to have lunch with her over the weekend. I don't know, to talk about girly stuff or something."

Tidus stuck out his tongue, "Yeah, I'll pass that on," He took out a pack of Everlasting Gobstoppers and popped one onto his hand before sticking it into his mouth. Axel gaped at him, and Tidus laughed, "You want one, don't you?"

"I love those," Axel made a grab for it but Tidus yanked it out of the way in time. "Come on, man, that's not cool. Gimme one."

"What's the magic word?" Tidus hid the candy behind his back.

Axel gritted his teeth, "You're a dickhead, ya know that?"

"That's not the word I'm looking for."

"…please."

Tidus just grinned slyly and handed him the box. With a warning of 'don't take the whole thing', Axel put a purple one in his mouth, "Thanks," Just as he was about to leave, Tidus grasped onto the back of his shirt, "Hm?"

"Stay here. I wanna see what colour it changes into."

"Seriously?" Axel stared at him with a dubious expression, "Really, Tidus, really? I'm gonna miss my– our bus."

"We have like ten fricking minutes. I just wanna see what colour it's gonna be next. That's the best part."

"No…the best part is eating it," Axel sighed, bending down a little to match Tidus's height, "You're real immature, Ti." Resting the candy on his tongue, he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue for Tidus to see. The blond leaned in closer but Axel closed his mouth.

"Hey! I didn't see!"

"You saw. I'm gonna leave now." But Axel's head was suddenly grabbed and Tidus pulled him down to face him.

With a jokingly threatening look, Tidus snarled, "Open your mouth, Axel."

"You're persistent," Axel mumbled, parting his lips again. Tidus grinned triumphantly, and Axel glared at him impatiently, "Well? Colour?"

"Red," Tidus straightened up, and then froze. Axel straightened up as well only to see Tidus staring behind him.

Puzzled, he whirled around as well. Roxas was standing right there, hands clenched into fists and Axel could see they were trembling with fury. Axel wasn't sure why, but he took a tentative step forward, "Roxas?"

The 'brunet' stumbled back some, "What…what were you doing?" His voice was quiet but Axel already knew that something was wrong. One tiny movement of his hand and Roxas took another step back, "Don't…" He took a wavering breath, holding his head as he stared at the ground, willing the confused tears not to fall. In a voice that was barely a whisper, he mumbled, "I…I don't get it." _Did I do something wrong?_

He instantly turned his heel and started running down the hall, dodging the teenagers that were exiting their classrooms. "Roxas! Roxas, hey!" Axel started to run after him, but the moment he did, he crashed into Riku and Sora, causing them to fall over. Axel groaned, picking himself off the ground.

"What the hell, Ax?" Riku punched him in the shoulder, "What was that for?"

"Roxas," Axel breathed, "Roxas. Where is he?" He craned his neck to see where his boyfriend had gone but he couldn't find him, not through the sea of teenagers. He slapped his hand to his forehead, "Crap…what did I _do_?"

* * *

Roxas dashed into the bathroom and nearly crashed into another boy.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Roxas voice broke as he skidded into the stall. Slamming the door shut, he rubbed his eyes and kicked the toilet seat, seething as pain shot up from his foot. Distinctly, he could hear kids running around outside, trying to get to their lockers and attempting to get to their bus, but Roxas barely noticed. His head was aching from trying to think of a good explanation.

From his view, all he could see was the back of Axel's head and the other blond was facing him. The first thing that came to his head was…they had kissed. Didn't they?! He couldn't hear what they were saying but that _kid_ – Tidus – he was holding onto Axel like he didn't want to let him go, and Axel had bent down to go to his eye level. Roxas squeezed his eyes shut, grasping his wig and tugged it off in frustration.

With an angry yell, he kicked the stall wall. Balling his hands into fists again, he placed them on the walls, his head bent, "I don't get it…why…?" Was it because Tidus was blond? Axel…liked blonds. That's what he had said before. Roxas glanced at the wig in his hand, glaring at it with utmost contempt, "Stupid…thing!" He threw it at the wall and it fell to the ground.

Rubbing his eyes to rid his tears, he bent down and picked the wig back up. Why couldn't he just tell Axel? Just get it over with; if Axel didn't like him anymore then…

Then…

Roxas felt a sob wracking his entire body. He couldn't do that. He couldn't live with Axel not liking him anymore. Axel was the one who made everything better when he came to school. Axel was the one he couldn't stop thinking about. Axel meant…everything to him…and telling him the truth would make everything disappear.

Tears wet his cheeks but he hurriedly tried to wipe them away with his school sweater's sleeve. He didn't understand what was going on. Sliding down to the ground, he placed the wig on his lap and buried his face into his hands. He wished things weren't so complicated.

_Telling him will ruin everything…_

"Roku, is that you?"

Roxas gasped, instantly jumping up to his feet. His wig nearly fell onto the ground but he caught it before it did. "S-Sora?" he cleared his throat, trying to regain his voice. "Yeah?"

"Bus is about to leave," Sora's voice sounded distant and Roxas's vision was still blurred by tears, "You're gonna miss it if you don't come."

Roxas gulped. He didn't want to see Axel. The redhead would immediately notice his puffy red eyes and then he would ask what had happened, even thought it wasn't like Axel wouldn't know what had happened. He sniffled into his sleeve, muffling the sound, "I-It's okay. I'll get Demyx to drive me home."

Sora hesitated, "Roku, are you okay?"

_No…no, I'm not…_ Roxas nodded.

"Roku?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I'll be okay. Thanks, Sora." He didn't move until he heard the door swinging open and clicking shut. His hands were shaking, almost to the point where he couldn't control them anymore. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Demyx's number.

"Yo, Rox—Rokusasu!"

Roxas flinched at his fake name, but when he opened his mouth to say his best friend's name, he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was like his words were stuck in his throat. He coughed.

"Hello? Roxas? You there?"

"Y-yeah…" Roxas was suddenly getting irritated at how hoarse his voice sounded. His heart felt like it was being constricted in a cage and he couldn't escape the fear of letting someone know his secret. He needed to talk to someone, but the only thing was, the person he wanted to talk to was Axel…

And he couldn't do that.

"Roxas, w-what's wrong? You're scaring me. Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"Demyx," Roxas's voice was barely above a whisper, "I don't know anymore."

"Wh—?"

"I can't do this anymore…"

* * *

**His Last Want: **To answer all of your questions, NO. xD! Axel does not find out anything in the next chapter. There's guaranteed fluff and whatnot in the next chapter though. ;D What I have so far is a 29-30 chapter story planned. If you really want to do a countdown, there's about five-six chapters before Axel finds out anything at all. Feel free to shoot me. D: I'm trying to fit all these things in. So, um, yeah~ Hope you guys had a good New Year's day and I guess I'll start on the next chapter now. ;D

And I think I'll add another Axel sees Roxas type thing. If I lied, I'm sorry. xD

First day of school today and my eyes are dead. Ew. _**Thanks for reading ~**_


	18. XVIII

**His Last Walk:** I DON'T DESERVE ANY OF YOU. Wahh~, I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been neck-deep in work at school, and feeling completely lazy, and also been having little inspiration to write good AkuRoku. ...I really have no legit excuse. I'm just a lazy arse. D: I'm so, so, so sorry. I tried to write this chapter to the best of my ability, and I'm gonna be sorry again if I end up disappointing anyone. Gahh, so yes. **THIS IS FO SCARLETT GREEN BECAUSE I PROMISED. **Yes, I didn't forget my promise. :D Hope this makes you feel better though I'm sure you're fine by now. Me and my slowness. Cottoncandy+Icing+Dentist+Coffee = His Last Walk doesn't even know. Love ya~

ALSO. I'm sorry for not replying to reviews. I will definitely START again. My fail. Sorry again for the 1093834798234th time.

**Warning:** SLOWER UPDATES T__T;; Because His Last Walk fails. Warnings for the chapter: Roxas DeRenzis meets Axel, part II. And Seifer's a creep.

Enjoy the read. I love you all ~ *heart.

* * *

**XVIII**

Roxas did not go to school for three days. He told Demyx to call in every time, telling the school that he was sick and that he just didn't want to go. On the first day, Demyx was okay with it. Sure, Roxas needed a break every now and then. But on the fourth day, he strode into the room and pulled that thick, baby blue blanket off Roxas's head.

"Okay. You've got a shoot right after school today, but you're still going to school anyway. Roxas, what's going on?" His eyes were demanding for a clear explanation.

"I already told you," Roxas mumbled into his pillow.

"Yeah, you told me Axel was cheating on you, but from what you've said about him the past few months, he doesn't seem like the type of person to do that," Demyx nudged Roxas, ruffling his blond hair affectionately, "Maybe it was something else. You didn't even see what they were doing."

"But it looked like it," Roxas buried his face deeper into the blankets, "And I don't wanna talk to him."

"You're gonna have to, Roxy," Demyx sighed into his hand, "You can't play hookie forever. It's gonna make me look bad too, you know. And Zexion _is _the principal."

Roxas smiled into the blanket, despite his mood, "I can see your relationship with him is going really well."

Demyx reddened, but he ignored it, "Come on, Roxas. Out of bed. You're going to school today." Roxas groaned wearily as the other blond started to yank his legs off the bed. Roxas landed with a loud thump on the ground, but he remained unmoving.

"What am I gonna tell him?" he mumbled into the ground, "He's called me millions of times and I've ignored all of them. He knows I'm mad but…"

"Just talk to him."

It took Roxas a grand total of thirty minutes to get ready and one minute to get to school, thanks to clear traffic and Demyx's insane way of driving. He made it in time for second period, but that was his lunch. Knowing that the redhead and his gang were probably in the washroom waiting for him, he took a quick shortcut to his locker. His eyes felt heavy; he had been crying the night before, but it didn't look it.

Still, it didn't stop a certain bully from approaching him right then and there.

"Well, who'da thunk? Looks like I caught myself a lamer."

Roxas slammed his locker closed, his head bent as he glared at the floor. _Great_, he thought, gritting his teeth. _Looks like I'm stuck handling this guy by myself. I can do this_. He turned around slowly, only to meet the bully's chest. Was Seifer _this tall _the last time they had encountered each other? Roxas couldn't recall.

"What do you want?" Roxas tried to sound as weary as possible, which wasn't hard, considering how tired he was.

"Playing hookie, gay boy? You were away for three days," Seifer towered over Roxas with a frighteningly, threatening expression, but Roxas didn't back down. Instead, he balled his hands into fists, getting ready to push Seifer away in case the other did anything.

"Aww, you paid attention to my absence? That's different," Roxas said with fake cheeriness, "I wasn't feeling well," he muttered, half-truthfully.

"Maybe I wouldn't have known if your boyfriend would stop moaning about how he missed you, that stupid faggot," Seifer scowled. Roxas's mind blanked for a second, clicking the words together in his head. Taking in the empty hallway and not forgetting that he was still alone with a bully that could practically beat the crap out of him, he tried side-stepping away anxiously.

"Well, if you've got nothing else to say to me, I'm gonna leave and—" Just as soon as he took one step to his left, he felt a hand at the back of his shirt and he knew it was no good. He bit back a yelp as Seifer yanked him back and pushed him against the lockers, smirking deviously.

"Leaving so soon? I'm not done talking to you, chick-en-wuss."

"Yeah, well, I am!" Roxas's voice rose. He wanted to be brave. He didn't need Axel to come and save him this time. He didn't need _anyone _to come and save him. It was time he stood up for himself. He was sick and tired of always being the one being taken care of. Seifer also seemed to notice this newfound bravery, but he didn't back down. A broad grin pulled at the other blond's face.

"And here I thought you'd be weaker without your boyfriend," Seifer leaned in closer; Roxas could feel his hot breath, "Guess I was wrong."

"I'm not weak," Roxas grumbled obstinately. He lifted his hand and prodded Seifer in the chest with his forefinger, "Now, leave me alone. I've got somewhere to go and you're in my way," he didn't like how Seifer was so close to him. Even though he was sure that Seifer wouldn't know a lot about Roxas DeRenzis (he didn't seem like the type to), Roxas still felt uneasy with someone so close to him.

Seifer bent down a bit, hands on either side of Roxas to prevent the 'brunet' from escaping. Roxas could now see the scar between the bully's eyes quite clearly, "What's your hurry?"

"…Hnnh…gonnagoeat, creep."

Seifer pulled back, eyebrows furrowing in anger. "What?"

"I said I'm eating, creep," Roxas pushed the flat of his palm at the boy's chest, causing the other to stagger back in shock. Seifer angrily grabbed Roxas's wrist just as the 'brunet's' fist met with his hard stomach again, but since Seifer was practically built up of ninety-nine percent muscle (or something of the like), it didn't hurt too much. But Seifer didn't even have time to recover when a new voice entered the hallway; the sound of this made the other two freeze in alarm.

"Roxas?"

Roxas's gaze tore from Seifer's shirt as he whipped his head around to see Axel standing in the middle of the hallway, his arms full of books. They gawked at each other for what seemed like one million years – then Axel's face broke into angry scowl. It was directed at Seifer.

"What are you doing to Roxas?"

Seifer instantly let go. Apparently, he hadn't forgotten their last fight, "Nothin', lamer," he muttered, stepping back one. Roxas rubbed his wrist, glowering at first Seifer, then Axel, before swiveling around and stomping away. Hurried footsteps chased after him. Roxas heard Seifer grunt; Axel must've pushed him out of the way. He felt slender fingers grasping his upper arm and Roxas was forced to turn back around.

"Hey," Axel puffed, short of breath, "I missed you."

"Did you?" Roxas quipped, avoiding his gaze. "I thought you'd be in the company of someone else. Anyway, I need to go and—" He paused in the middle of his sentence, unable to think of 'what he was going to do'. Axel's eyes narrowed; Roxas had missed those deep, emerald eyes. Inwardly shaking his head, he urged himself to get those tenacious thoughts out of his head.

"Where were you? You didn't answer my calls or anything. I thought you died or something," Axel started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Roxas demanded, taking his laughter the wrong way.

Axel's chuckles stopped as abruptly as they had started; he realized that Roxas was _not _happy. His lips formed a tight line; he slightly apprehensive to what he should say next, "Nothing, Roxas. It…it was an accident – or something. Sorry. I knew you weren't dead. I'd be crying if you were…" Axel couldn't stop babbling. He shut his mouth, but Roxas was still not convinced. He rolled his eyes, starting towards the cafeteria.

"I didn't need your help back there," he started to say, "I was perfectly fine before you came."

"Well, technically, you got yourself out. I just interrupted," Axel's voice started to falter at Roxas's glare and he immediately shut his mouth. Quickening his pace, though, he hurried after Roxas's fast-retreating form, "What's wrong, Roxas? Are you still sick?"

Roxas clenched his hands into fists again and stuffed them into his pockets, scared that he might actually throw a punch at his boyfriend. "I'm not sick," he responded in an exasperated manner. Swinging the doors to the cafeteria open, he hoped that Axel would stop following him. But Axel had already let Roxas out of his grasp three days ago; he wasn't about to do it again.

Something pulled down Axel's heart. Something was wrong, and he knew it. Was it…his fault? Clearing his throat a little, his fingers hooked around Roxas's elbow and he pulled the 'brunet' back towards him. Roxas only glared daggers at him, "Let me go."

"Are you mad at me?" It was only three days ago that Roxas had asked that very same question to Axel, and now it was the other way around. Roxas didn't bother pulling away.

"What does it look like?"

"Whoa, okay, you don't have to snap at me," Axel let go of Roxas, almost as if afraid that the latter was going to bite him ferociously. He tried remembering what he had done wrong, or why Roxas had run from him the other day. But it was three days ago; he really couldn't recall what had happened. "Can I just know what I did wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Roxas muttered, turning his back on Axel again. He was aware that a few people were staring now, those that were able to hear what they were saying, anyway. The redhead was now starting to become impatient.

"I'd appreciate it if you tell me what's going on, Roxas."

"You _know _what you did!" Apparently, Roxas's patience was wearing thin as well. Axel, on his own behalf, stood his ground.

"Do I? I'm not a fucking mind reader, Rox, because you seem to think I know _everything_."

"But you _do _know," Roxas's voice wavered, slightly uncertain now. Axel _did _have a genuinely confused look on his face, but that was how _most _people were. They hid their lies behind a mask of puzzlement. "You do." He didn't care now that they had an audience; he could hear a few snickers emitting for all sides of the cafeteria. He wasn't surprised. Axel _was _quite popular.

"I'm not lying to you, Rox-"

"Don't," Roxas glared at him, "I said you know what you did. You know perfectly well."

"Really now?" Axel gave in, and his voice shook, "Enlighten me."

"You _cheated _on me!" The moment those words left Roxas's mouth, unwanted tears sprung to his eyes, but they had disappeared the moment they had come. Silent gasps moved its way through the audience like chain-mail and Axel's entire lithe frame stiffened in shock and disbelief to what Roxas had just said. Roxas glared at him. _I'm not going to cry this time. Not. This. Time._

Quickly pushing past Axel, he didn't hear the fall of books as they tumbled out of Axel's arms. It wasn't until he left the cafeteria did he hear the entire room bursting out into hushed whispers.

* * *

Riku couldn't find Roxas.

That was becoming a problem, since Axel was now skipping class because he was 'in a fight' with Roxas. Since the brunet wasn't in his class either, Riku suspected that he was skipping as well. The redhead had told Riku what had happened in the cafeteria, and the worst part of it was that half the cafeteria believed Roxas. They had shot scornful insults at Axel, who didn't even know what to think of it. Now, Riku had to find Roxas on _his _music period where he could've been with_ Sora_. He supposed it was okay though; he was doing this for his best friend. And Sora didn't seem to mind.

But then again, Riku and Roxas hardly conversed with each other.

…maybe now it was a good time to start.

Riku growled under his breath, "Where are you…I don't wanna run all around the school looking for you, Roku."

Just as he started up the stairs to run around the second floor for what would have been the fourth time, he heard a small voice. It was quiet, but it was there, "Riku?"

The silver-haired male skidded to a stop, backtracking a few steps, "Roku?" he scowled when he saw Roxas sitting on the ground underneath the staircase. He was huddled against the wall, hugging his bag to his chest, and one of his iPod's earphones was stuck inside an ear. Roxas glanced questionably up at Riku, pressing the pause button on his music player. The latter stared into the other's blue eyes; Roxas had been crying.

"Why aren't you in class?" Riku narrowed his eyes.

Roxas dropped his gaze; he knew he shouldn't have skipped, but he really didn't feel well. If he were to go to class, he would've spaced out and not paid attention anyway, "I didn't feel like it," he lied.

"That's no excuse," to Roxas's surprise, Riku sat down beside him, his arm resting on his bent knee. Roxas yanked the earphone out of his ear and waited; if Riku was here, and had sat down beside him, that must have meant that he had something to say. Riku _never _talked to him alone.

"I-I know."

"I want to talk to you."

_Ah, I knew it, _Roxas thought, hands gripping at his pants. He looked up to meet Riku's bright eyes, "Look, if you want to talk to me about Axel—"

"I _do _want to talk to you about Axel," Riku interrupted sharply and Roxas fell silent, "He told me what happened in the cafeteria. What makes you think he'd even _do _that?"

Roxas turned away, sending Riku obvious vibes that he didn't want to talk about it. Riku continued to prod, or rather, he didn't say anything, and that by itself started to make Roxas uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke up, "It's not what I _think _happened, because if I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it if someone else told me that either."

"What?" Riku stared at him disbelievingly. "You _saw _him cheating on you? With who?"

Roxas did a little half-shrug with his shoulder, "This…guy. I think his name's Tidus."

"Tidus? As in, Tidus from our bus? That shrimpy blond kid in grade nine?"

Roxas thought for a moment, "Yes."

"Are you serious?" Riku stared at him with a blatant expression, "Tidus and Axel? You really need a smack in the head right about now," the boy raised his arm and Roxas flinched by instinct. He was rather surprised when nothing hit him though. He peeked through the crack between his arms and saw that Riku was staring at him with an intent expression, "You're so naïve."

"What?" Roxas retorted back in his own defense, "I _saw _them!"

"I think I've known Axel longer than you have," for some reason, that statement bothered Roxas greatly and he ended up staring at a small black mark on the floor of the school. Riku saw this, so he stayed silent for a while. Shrugging his shoulders, the silver-haired male leaned back against the wall, "He wouldn't do that. I just know he wouldn't. Sure, he was the type of guy that—"

"Wasn't serious?" Roxas asked skeptically, "Yeah, I already know that. So maybe he's not serious about _our _relationship."

"He is."

Roxas gaped at him. The words were so sudden, and the 'brunet' _knew _that Riku meant them, but somehow…he couldn't believe it. It wasn't that he didn't _want _to believe it. "How do you know?"

"How do _you _not know," Riku responded. Roxas pouted.

"Stop answering my question with another question. That's really annoying."

"That's the point," Riku tapped Roxas on the head lightly, "Honestly though, Axel came home from that date and I was at his house at that time to pick up my homework, and he was _freaking out. _He thought he ruined your date or something like that. He wouldn't stop rambling on about it, and – well, use your imagination, Roxas. He looked like a mess the three days you were away."

"So you're saying it's _my _fault now?" Roxas's blood started to boil.

Riku's sharp green eyes penetrated him but the other didn't falter. The elder sighed heavily, slowly getting up to his feet. For some reason, Roxas was feeling slightly disappointed. Was that it? Was that _all _Riku came to him to talk about? He was about to angrily press the play button on his iPod again when he heard Riku's tired voice, "Just talk to him, will ya? Properly, this time. And not this 'I know what you did' bullshit. Just…" Roxas could tell that Riku was trying to put it into nicer terms, "talk to him and actually listen to him, and maybe you'll find out something new. I guarantee that it won't be bad. Anyway, I'm kinda sick of him complaining to me. It's your turn now." Despite the words, Riku smiled. A genuine…smile.

Roxas's words got stuck in his throat, but Riku understood. "I'll leave it up to you, then," there was a pause, "He's outside the west exit, on the stairs," and he left without another word.

…_What?_

Roxas stuffed his iPod into his sweater pocket and stood up, careful not to hit the bottom of the stairs. He didn't care that he was out of uniform; no one was looking, anyhow. West exit? Did Riku _really _and _truly _believe that Axel would have a good explanation? It made him feel a little better, and suddenly, breathing wasn't so hard to do. Well, if Axel's best friend would think this, then…maybe there was going to be a good reason to talk to his boyfriend.

After all, he didn't want their relationship to fail _now._

Roxas immediately caught the sight of Axel's fiery red hair as he opened the West exit doors. The redhead was leaning back against the railings of the stairs, his feet propped across so that passerby's wouldn't be able to get through. The door slammed shut behind the shorter boy, and Axel's head jerked up to see who had disrupted his quiet time. His emerald cat-like eyes narrowed at the sight of Roxas, but even though the gesture was remotely welcoming, Roxas abruptly realized just how much he had missed looking deep into those eyes.

"Ax…el?"

Said redhead maintained his cold gaze, "So you've finally decided to talk to me?"

Roxas didn't back down, "I wasn't _going _to, but then Riku came and spoke to me," at that, Axel immediately stiffened in jealousy, but Roxas shook his head, "It wasn't like _that._ He wanted to … tell me off, basically." Axel wrinkled his nose, but he didn't say anything. Roxas continued, "I want to know what happened."

"I thought you said you already knew," Axel sneered, but there was a hint of forgiveness in those jade eyes.

Roxas dropped his gaze, "…I want to hear it from you."

From that moment, Axel burst out into explanation, like he couldn't _wait _to get the pressure off his chest. Roxas tried to keep up with the fast input of words. The more Axel talked, the more embarrassed Roxas got. In the end, the 'brunet' slumped against the wall behind him and his jaw was dropped. Axel stared at him incredulously, "What did you _think _I was doing three days ago?"

Roxas couldn't even tell him. He felt like a complete idiot now. Candy? That was it? Holy…shit… How the hell did he manage to mix_ kissing _and _that _up? "Um…" that tingling sensation in his throat leading up to his cheeks could only mean one thing; he was blushing furiously, much to his anguish, "…uh…"

Axel waited patiently.

"…eating Tidus's face…something like that…"

"You thought I was _kissing _him?!" Axel ogled at his boyfriend. Roxas kept his gaze shamefacedly on the ground, mumbling a few incoherent protests under his breath. A few of the words sounded like, 'well, it looked like it…' Axel averted his gaze, an angry scowl embedded on his face, "I can't believe you, Roxas. I tell you almost every fricking day just how much I love you, and when you see me with someone else, the first thing you assume is that I'm cheating on you? Jesus, Roxas, what kind of person do you think I am?"

The younger boy couldn't think of anything to respond back with. He hid his hands behind his back and continued to stare at the ground. The redhead's face softened; he wanted to be furious with Roxas, or at least act it. But…_really? _Minutes passed by without either of them speaking to each other; Roxas just couldn't speak, and Axel was pretending to be mad at him. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. The redhead patted on the ground beside him, "Here. Sit here, Rox."

The boy wordlessly walked over and sat himself down. Without warning, Axel held him in a gruff embrace, nearly crushing Roxas's ribs together, "Ah! Axe—"

"I'm not letting this go for a long time, just so you're aware," he held the other closer to his chest. Roxas breathed in Axel's scent, nearly making himself drunk with it. He had missed that smell too.

"I know."

For moments, the only thing they could hear was the chatter and giggles of the other teenagers across the asphalt. They heeded the two no attention though. So it took a little while for both of them to understand each other, but at least they finally got it through. Roxas never wanted to go through anything like this again. It was like a sudden weight being sucked out of his chest, and now, he could _breathe. _Axel spoke against Roxas's wig-hair.

"You are _such _a girl, you know that?"

"How so?" Roxas asked, defiant.

"You didn't come to school for three days just because you thought your boyfriend was cheating on you," Axel grinned, tapping Roxas lightly on the nose, "Little girly Roxas."

"Hey," Roxas snapped jokingly, "I'm _not. _I fully defended myself in front of Seifer and I don't think I needed any of _your _help."

"Aw, is my little boy growing up?" Axel teased right back. Roxas rested his head against Axel's chest.

"I'll get stronger," Roxas promised in a soft undertone, "You won't have to take care of me as much."

"I like taking care of you," Axel insisted resolutely.

The model-in-disguise laughed quietly, "I'll have that memorized."

* * *

"THANK YOU, FINALLY! Now, have you guys officially made up or am I going to have to come back?" Marluxia narrowed his eyes at Roxas and Axel, who were now cuddling outside after school. Axel just threw him a dirty look and that was good enough for the pink-haired teenager. Riku sat back with his 'I-told-you-so' look, which Roxas didn't mind too much now. "Are you two going to go on a make-up date now?"

"Why are you so interested in our personal life?" Axel scowled, a bit peeved. "No, we aren't, but not because I don't want to. Roxas has somewhere to go right now."

"I just gotta wait until Demyx gets here," Roxas reluctantly pulled away from Axel to stand up, peering around the parking lot for any sign of that mullet-haired man.

"Where are you going, anyway?" asked Riku in a lazy tone.

"I just gotta go pick up some stuff for school," Roxas was now used to lying. He pushed the thought of modeling outside his head. Riku glanced back up to gaze questioningly at him, but before the latter could open his mouth, a loud honk of a horn could be heard. Roxas beamed, "That's him. I gotta go!" Just as he stood up, Axel grasped his wrist and yanked him back down.

"Wait," he clashed their lips together.

Roxas smiled against the kiss before pulling away gingerly, "Love you, Axel," the redhead returned the words with a smile that sent the same message. Feeling a lot lighter and happier, he bounded towards Demyx's car and jumped into the passenger seat. Demyx raised an eyebrow cynically.

"I can see someone's in a good mood. Let me guess. You and Axel made up."

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Please don't say –"

"Told you so~"

_

* * *

Two hours later_

"And that's a wrap! Thank you, Roxas DeRenzis. Namine, you were wonderful as well."

Yes, Roxas had to model with the petite blonde again. He didn't mind, of course. Namine had seemingly calmed down since their last encounter and she didn't fangirl over him this time. Still, every time he was posing with her, he couldn't help but notice her ogling at the back of his head or any part of him that was visible to her.

"Hey, Roxas?"

The blond had just finished pulling off a nice stretch; he was wearing a loose sweater and a pair of dark jeans. Casual wear was always the best, because then he could just step out without feeling so conspicuous. He whirled around to see Namine gawking at him through big, blue eyes.

"Yes?"

Namine uncertainly shifted her weight onto her other foot, "I was wondering…a-are you busy right now? Maybe we can grab some coffee and, I don't know, talk for a little?"

"Um…"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Roxas," Namine stepped forward, slender hands behind her back. "I just want to get to know you better."

Taking a quick sweep around the room, Roxas realized that Demyx was nowhere to be found and that the man could not help him escape out of this date. Well, it was _only _coffee. What could go wrong? And Namine had already said that she wasn't interested in him in _that _way. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. "I'm seeing someone right now," he added tersely.

The blonde blinked, "I didn't get the memo."

"I don't want the media to know."

To his surprise, Namine beamed, "That's alright. I understand completely. Whoever she is, d-do you think she'll mind that you're having coffee with me? I swear I won't jump you like the other girls," she giggled anxiously into her hand. Roxas felt the corners of his lips pulling into a soft smile without his consent; he knew that she was telling the truth, and he trusted her. He touched her lightly on the shoulder, reassuring her that nothing was wrong.

"It's only coffee," he murmured, gently pulling her along, "It'll be fine."

"Thanks, Roxas."

It took the two of them a few minutes just to get to the café around the block. Roxas had his sunglasses on while Namine only had to pull a white beanie over her head. She wasn't _as _famous as him, so the two decided that it wouldn't be _too _bad if she was caught. The teenagers welcomed the warm gust of air that greeted them as soon as they stepped in. Sitting by the window, Roxas graciously pulled the chair out for Namine to sit. She commented briefly on how he was acting like a gentleman and, really, he didn't need to. Roxas felt his cheeks flushing at the words.

"Sorry. It's just…habit…"

Namine smiled genuinely, "I know," she waved the waiter over as soon as she took a good scan over the menu, "I'll have this," she pointed. She glanced up at Roxas questioningly, and the latter just shrugged nonchalantly.

"Strawberry cream frap for me."

The waiter nodded before leaving. Namine cupped her chin in the palm of her hand as she kept her watch on Roxas, "So, Mr. DeRenzis, tell me something about yourself."

Roxas laughed uneasily, feeling slightly awkward. "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start off with something simple, then. What's your favorite drink?"

"I just ordered it," Roxas chuckled, leaning back against his chair. It was nice, spending time with someone else for once. It wasn't that he didn't like being with Axel and his rowdy group of friends, but this was…different. "You?"

"Vanilla Rooibos tea," Namine replied immediately, and she started giggling at the look on Roxas's face, "Never heard of it?"

"Nope," he answered, perplexed.

"I'll let you try some," the girl tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Favorite colour?"

At that exact moment, something caught Roxas's eye. "Red," he answered automatically, his eyes travelling towards the door where the figure had entered. His eyes widened impossibly behind his dark shades (the same ones Axel had given to him) as he sees the all-too-familiar, tall, and slightly intimidating redhead. "Oh, god…"

"What?" Namine turned around to see what Roxas was looking at, but Axel had already stridden up to another table on the opposite side. Roxas shook his head frantically, panic causing his heart to skip a beat. On reckless impulse, he stood up and tilted his head to the side.

"I just saw someone," said Roxas, "I'll be right back, okay?"

Namine looked a bit put off, but she nodded, "Alright. Don't take too long."

It didn't take long for Roxas to saunter over. Axel was too busy staring out the café window to notice the approach, but Roxas placed his hand on the empty chair across from Axel and pulled, scraping the legs loudly against the ground. Axel jumped, startled, and Roxas grinned. "Is this seat taken?"

Axel's piercing emerald eyes roved over Roxas's attire before his gaze met with those shaded blue orbs. Axel recognized the model Roxas quickly, and his forehead unswervingly smacked onto the table surface, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Aw, I'm not _that _bad, am I?" Roxas laughed, tension washing away at this reaction. He was already finding this somewhat entertaining. In fact, he felt a lot braver. Maybe it was because of the earlier incident and how school Roxas and Axel were happily together again. He felt, well, like he was on a high horse and nothing could knock him over. Axel noticed the change from when he last spoke to _this_ Roxas. He didn't say anything for a bit; he just continued to overly-analyze the blond. Finally, he muttered.

"Nice shades."

"I thought you'd say that," Roxas seated himself down without being invited, but Axel didn't protest. The blond model took this as a good sign. "What brings you here?"

"Long day at school and I need a break. Why do you care?"

"Just being friendly. No need to bite my head off."

"I wasn't—" Axel started to say, but he cut it off with a low, resolute growl. "Well, what brings a prominently stuck-up model to my table? I didn't exactly wave you over, did I?"

"Ouch," Roxas held his hands over his heart, pulling on a mockingly hurt expression, "That stung. Pick up the pieces before someone steps on them."

"I'm flattered," Axel sneered, "But I've already got someone I like."

To this, Roxas blushed. Even now, Axel had to bring up his other self. "H-hey, I wasn't implying anything, alright?" Straight away, Axel threw back his head and let out a bark of laughter.

"So even famous models get self-conscious."

"I'm human, you know," Roxas grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he urged the red tint in his cheeks to go away. "You're an ass." But of course, he didn't mean that. He knew the real Axel, and believe it or not, Roxas actually thought that the redhead was in a better mood today.

"I know," Axel chirped cheerfully.

"You're happy today. You're acting a little different than when I last met you."

"Same goes for you."

"Yeah, well, I had a good day today."

"Same goes for me," Axel propped his chin on the knuckles of his pale hand, "You're lucky, or else I would've kicked your ass already for coming to my table without asking." Roxas glanced up, but the redhead was smiling. It was a cold smile, but it was the closest thing he could get to being remotely friendly with a model he hated. Roxas took a deep breath.

"Do you hate me _that _much?"

Axel's face instantly broke into a grin, which shocked the blond a little, "Why is everyone asking me that question lately? Well, I guess it's because it's _you_…" Axel leaned back into his seat, balancing himself on the hind legs. "I'm not answering that question."

"Huh? W-wait, why not?"

"Because there's no reason to," Axel smirked, his hands now behind his fiery red hair – oh, how Roxas loved that hair. "Anyway, I wouldn't tell _you. _You'd be the last to know."

"That's unfair."

"Life's unfair, kid," Axel shrugged, "But hey, maybe you'll change my mind."

To both the blond and the redhead's surprise, Roxas scoffed automatically, "Pfft. Yeah, right. Somehow, I highly doubt that," but Roxas grinned anyway, "It's been nice meeting you a second time, A—" he stopped himself on time, remembering that he wasn't supposed to know the other boy's name. He paused, waiting for it to be given. Axel raised an eyebrow, silently debating in his head whether or not he should give out his real name. Maybe just give him a fake name like 'Bob'. But he shrugged.

"Axel Kurosairi."

Roxas waited. Then he heard it.

"Got it memorized?"

The corners of the blond's lips curled impishly at the familiar phrase, "Yeah. For sure. Nice meeting you for a second time, Axel Kurosairi."

"…You too, Roxas DeRenzis."

As Roxas crossed back to the blonde to continue their 'date', Axel watched the back of the model's head and narrowed his eyes. He acted differently that he had expected him to. None of that cockiness, but the shyness wasn't there as well. It was almost as if Roxas _knew _him. Like, _really knew him. _Axel shook his head, resting his chin in his arms as he stared at the menus. So maybe his impression on Roxas DeRenzis changed just a little.

_A little as in a fraction of a centimeter, _he told himself. _I still don't like him._

_

* * *

Click._

Outside the café, a photographer was sneakily trying to catch a picture of the two models inside. They might have _thought _that they were well-disguised, but this photographer had sharp eyes. The man smirked as he caught a picture of Namine's 'lovey-dovey' face and Roxas's 'less-than-patient' one. His eyes visibly widened when the blond excused himself from the table and strode over to another man.

That meeting took more than five minutes. Something must have gone on during that moment, and the two were acting more than a little friendly. The light flashed as his camera snapped the picture. He could see this already; this was _definitely _going to make the headlines.

* * *

**END END END: His Last Walk: **I don't even know if that photographer's gonna be important. I just know it adds more suspense. :D LOL. There were probably mistakes everywhere. D: My glasses obviously do not work and I am still blind as hell. I hope you liked anyway~ It'll definitely take a while for me to get to chapter nineteen. *covers eyes and runs from readers* I love you aaaalll, if that compensates for anything. ;~; Please do not harm the author. I need my hands to write ;^; and, and, and, my legs to walk... to the computer to write. Breaking my neck is not recommended. LOVE YOU!


	19. XIX

**Summary****:** All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**Warning: **Um, boylove. LOL. And there's like this part where they get close to doing stuff but--*bombed*

**A/N: **Oho~ Excessive use of page breaks. Really, I packed a lot of things in this chapter because I feel bad for the late update. xD Happy** VERY LATE** Valentine's Day, babeh. Let's get perma-inked.  
Hehhh, I know I took long. Forgive me. :3  
Also, do you know how long it took me to figure out what the roman numeral for 19 was? LOL. I feel quite slow today. MARCH BREAK FTW!

**

* * *

XIX**

_Bisexual__? Roxas __**DeRenzis **__caught leaving beautiful blonde for attractive redheaded male._

"Can you please explain this? I'd like to know what's going on." Demyx lifted the magazine up to Roxas's eye level, demanding to get a straight answer. Roxas flickered his blue eyes towards the title, snorted once, and then went back to his cereal. It was early in the morning of the week after their little 'meeting', and it was only now that it made it in. _That's kinda slow, _Roxas thought cheerfully. Nothing could ruin his mood today, and he didn't really know why. Demyx pulled a face at him.

"_Roxas…" _

The blond had put on his wig now, so over his fluffy blond locks were spikes of chestnut brown. He took another glance at the picture: There were three pictures. The one of the very left was with him and Namine, happily talking. He was sure that was the part where they were talking about favourite drinks. The second picture was, of course, of him and Axel, playfully bantering and insulting each other. The angle that the camera was in had Roxas looking like he was leaning in, flirtatiously smiling at the 'attractive redhead'. The last picture was an angry looking Namine staring down at her phone. Well, that was the picture depicted anyway, but Roxas knew fully well that she was just getting a call and she had furrowed her eyebrows at the name of her boss calling her back to work. Then she had left the café, which the magazine described as 'storming out in a rage because Roxas had ditched her'. Something amongst those lines.

He finally returned his focus back on Demyx. Too lazy to explain the situation, he shrugged. "We just met each other did. I saw him and I thought I'd say hi." He rolled his eyes up thoughtfully. "I suppose I'll be getting a phone call from my uncle soon then, hm?"

"Why?" Demyx sat down, placing the magazine on the table, visibly less distressed. "He already knows you like boys."

"Yes, well, I guess."

Though there was nothing to keep his uncle from being suspicious of him and his activities now. Roxas was going to have to be a little bit more careful from here on out. Waving the thought away, he stood up from his seat, spooning the last of his Cheerios into his mouth. "I'm going to school now."

"Yes. Don't miss the bus or you know what happens."

"I'd rather bike than ride with you, just saying."

Axel was asleep on the bus, but there was an empty seat beside him so Roxas sat there, knowing no one would mind anyway. Riku sat with Sora, and the brunet's head was nodding off towards Riku's shoulder. If Axel slept on him, he would probably be crushed by his weight and then sent to the walkway of the bus. He grimaced at the thought and used his shoulder to keep Axel from sleeping on him.

He shouldn't have been too surprised when he arrived at school though. There were murmurs and whispers as every other student held a magazine. Axel's arm was slung over Roxas's shoulder, and as he stifled a yawn with his hand, he glanced over at a particular student, who instantly backed away. Apparently, Axel's hatred for Roxas DeRenzis was well-known. Riku plucked the magazine out of the student's hands and took one brief look at it. He smirked.

"Well, well, well…second time, Axel?"

"…Hm?"

The silveret held the magazine out for Axel to take and the redhead blearily reached for it, missing it once before grasping it a second time. He blinked at the cover, and though Roxas already knew what it looked like, he peered around to catch a glimpse of it, acting as if it was the first time he saw it. A scowl adorned his boyfriend's lips.

"What the hell is this?"

"Whoa!" Sora had caught a glimpse of it as well. "You talked to Roxas DeRenzis?!"

Said person flushed as he heard the others starting to talk about him. He didn't know what to say. Praising Roxas DeRenzis would be praising himself, and he felt uncomfortable doing so. Insulting him alongside haters would be rather contradicting. So Roxas just stayed silent. Axel let out an exasperated sigh. "Roxas, I swear. I only met him there. We weren't flirting."

Catching onto Axel's explanation, he realized that Axel was misinterpreting his silence as jealousy. He pretended to give him a mocking glare. "Oh, really? It kinda looks like he likes you. I thought you hated him." _Hah._

"I don't." There was a moment of stunned silence, and then: "I mean, I do. Well, I love _you _and I would never cheat on you, Roxas, you _know _that."

The corners of the 'brunet''s lips were starting to curl in amusement. "I don't know~"

It was fantastic to see a pout forming on Axel's face, but now the redhead could see that his boyfriend was just playing with him. Rolling his emerald eyes up to the ceiling, he gave the magazine to Riku, who took it. The crowd moved around them, eager to see what the redhead would do. Before Axel could say anything to Roxas, Tidus piped up from the crowd. "What did you two talk about?"

Axel sent him a look that meant: Shut up. Tidus smirked, sharing a look with Roxas. The model in disguise almost grinned. "Yeah, what _did _you two talk about?"

The crowd quieted a bit, and Axel answered immediately, "You."

Roxas blinked, though it wasn't really a surprise. Sure, they _did _talk a bit about him. There was just the slight mentioning that Axel was in love with someone else, and that was Roxas. Still, he had to pretend that he didn't know. "What about me?"

Lithe fingers grasped the collar of his uniform and Roxas found himself being pulled forward, closer to Axel's advancing face. A pang of guilt attacked the 'brunet' when he heard Axel say, "How much I love you." As the crowd groaned about how cheesy that was, Axel's lips pressed against Roxas's, but the feeling of restlessness still lingered in the model's heart. He felt the redhead smiling against the kiss, and then it was broken. "Now screw off!" he shouted humorously at the crowd, which quickly dispersed. Roxas beamed.

For the rest of the week, the news of Axel and Roxas DeRenzis slowly thinned to a calm buzz, and after another week, the news was barely important. But why was it that every time Axel said 'I love you' to him, he would have a hard time saying it back? Shame was gradually filling up his heart, and it was almost getting too heavy to bear. As Roxas sat on his favourite red couch in Demyx's apartment, he watched as his guardian flipped through the channels edgily.

"Don't you have something else to do?" Roxas asked, exasperated. "Like, going on a date with your boyfriend?"

Demyx took a while answering, his attention focused on the television. "Huh? Oh, he's busy."

"Didn't stop you from bothering him at other times."

"Yes, but that was until he threatened not to sleep with me."

"…Ugh." Roxas planted his forehead into his palm. "I didn't need to know that."

"But you asked—"

The two of them froze as the younger blond's cell phone rang. Roxas's eyes widened impossibly and Demyx quickly flipped the TV off. Uselessly, they stared at the phone as it vibrated, watching it slowly move across the table. Roxas swore under his breath, picking it up. Sephiroth.

"He's gonna ask you about the magazine cover," Demyx whispered hoarsely.

"Kinda late for that, don't you think?" Roxas shot back before flipping the cell open. The magazine cover had been out for two weeks now. He controlled his voice from cracking as he said, "Hello?"

"You haven't been calling."

Roxas bit down the urge to say 'you sound like an over-obsessive boyfriend'. Taking a deep breath, he repeated the same answer he had given before, "I've been busy. Sorry." His voice was flat. There was a heavy sigh from the other line, and then the flip of paper. Roxas had a strong feeling that it was the magazine.

"What's this about Namine and this, erm, redhead?"

_None of your business. _"He's just someone I met there."

"Are you sure?" His uncle's voice sounded testy, and Roxas shook his head at Demyx, who was positively cowering on the couch. _You're no help at all, _Roxas mouthed at the older guardian. Demyx just shot him a crooked grin.

"I'm sure."

Both people knew that Roxas was lying, but Sephiroth had no proof. The man couldn't leave this country until all the meetings were over, and that was going to take another month. The silver-haired man glowered at the phone in his hand before placing it next to his ear again. "Look, I would like it if you didn't go sneaking around with people I don't know."

"What, you have to know my friends in order for me to be friends with them?"

"So the redhead is your friend?"

_Shit. _"…No. I-I'm just saying." He calmed himself by taking a deep breath. "I'm not lying to you, I promise."

"You '_promise'_, Roxas?" The man's voice was soft. Dangerous. Roxas gulped.

"Yes."

"Is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

It was more like a demand than a question. Roxas hesitated, then uttered another one word answer: "No."

"…Very well." And then there was a _click. _Sephiroth had hung up without saying goodbye, not that Roxas really minded. He flipped the cell phone off and tossed it onto the table, ignoring the loud clatter it made. Biting his nails nervously, Roxas exchanged looks with Demyx. Neither dared to move, and even though Demyx knew that turning on the TV would loosen some of the tension, he couldn't bring himself to move. Roxas whispered,

"Do you think you can reserve a spot back at the hotel for me?"

Demyx thought it over. "I _can, _but it'll take a month or so. Why?"

Roxas buried his face into the pillow. "I think Sephiroth knows something's up."

* * *

"Guess what?"

Roxas was leaning over Axel's desk, his chin propped on his hands and his elbows on the desk. Axel glanced at their history teacher before moving his gaze onto his delectable boyfriend. He grinned, baring his canine teeth in the process. "You'll be sleeping with me tonight?"

"Ha…no." Roxas let out a little laugh. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day." There was silence. "Valentine's Day," Roxas repeated, not sure if he had made his point clear enough. Axel stared at him owlishly. Roxas sighed inwardly. "Got any plans?"

"Uh, hold on." Axel dashed out of his seat, stammered something about going to the washroom to Ms. Lockheart, and then scampered out of the room. The rest of the class had no idea what was going on. Axel skid down the hallways, in search of a certain silver-headed friend. What class did Riku have again? _Ah, there he is. _Axel knocked rapidly on the door to the Physics room, and a very annoyed teacher threw him a dirty glare.

"If it isn't Axel Kurosairi—"

"Hi, sir, can I speak to Riku for a second, thank you, bye!" He grabbed his friend by the wrist and dragged him out of the class, ignoring the splutters that came from the physics teacher. Riku's aquamarine eyes narrowed in suspicion and once they were out of sight in the next hallway, he wrenched his grasp out of Axel's grip.

"Explanation, please?"

Axel ran an anxious hand through unkempt, wild crimson hair. "I don't know what to do."

"For…?"

"Valentine's Day!" Axel nearly shouted, but he kept his voice in check. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I forgot and I don't have any plans and I think Roxas wants me to do something but I've got nothing planned and –" Suddenly realizing how pathetic he sounded, he cleared his throat and stuffed his hands into his pockets, averting his gaze. "Yeah, so, I've got nothing to do tomorrow and you know I've never been good with this kind of stuff."

Riku raised an eyebrow, having only heard a quarter of what his friend said. "So you want me to give you ideas? Whoa, wait, this is your first time trying."

"Trying to do what?" Axel snapped impatiently.

"Trying to do _something _for Valentine's Day." Riku smirked triumphantly. "I thought you said it was a day for losers."

"I change my mind." The tall boy frowned, staring at the tattoos on his arms. "I want to do something different this year." Riku followed his gaze to the matrixes of dark designs on the redhead's muscular arms. Suddenly, the gears started clicking inside their heads and Axel's expression brightened. "Ah."

Riku smiled, his words slightly laced with condescension. "I knew you'd think of something. It's not very romantic, I mean, but I guess that's the best Axel Kurosairi can do."

"Shut up." As Riku started making his way back to his science class, Axel called out, "What do _you _have planned?" The silveret shrugged, not slowing down his pace.

"Sora thought that since I was always the one trying to do something every year, he would try and change that. So I have no idea what he has in store for me tomorrow."

Axel scowled. "You rascal. Is this your way of making me feel guilty?"

Riku just gave him a beguiling smirk. "Good luck tomorrow, Axel."

* * *

It took a while to convince Roxas to get a tattoo for Valentine's Day. He kept changing his mind. In the morning, he was excited, then a few hours later, he would start to be tentative about it, and then two hours later, he was back into the mood to get himself inked permanently. Roxas thought it over. If it was in a place where _no one _would be able to see, then he was safe. Arms and legs were out of the question, since modeling required him to wear shorts and t-shirts.

However, there was one thing he wasn't allowed to do when modeling, and that was to take off his shirt. Roxas blinked at the building in front of him, and his grip on Axel's hand tightened. His stomach was starting to feel finicky and he forced himself not to think about throwing up. "What design do you have planned for me?"

"It's a surprise," Axel said teasingly. "But you'll like it."

"I'll like anything, really," Roxas retorted back. _It's kinda exciting. I'm already going to school, which is against Sephiroth's rules. Why not break one more?_ "Um, I get to choose where to put it though, okay?"

Axel nodded his consent, and then he leaned down to whisper in Roxas's ear. "They don't ask questions but tell them you're eighteen anyway." He ruffled Roxas's wig, in which the 'brunet' shied away carefully. "Ready?"

"You make it sound like we're going into a war," the boy joked. Despite what he said, Roxas took a deep breath. "Ready."

* * *

"Like it?"

Roxas lifted his shirt up, twisting around to see the red and orange flame decorating the back of his waist. In ink-black, there were the numbers 8 and 13. It represented the two boys' favourite numbers, and as Axel recalled it, 8:13 was the time when he first saw Roxas. When he had told the 'brunet' that, Roxas had no choice but to roll his eyes in amusement. It was neat, having a tattoo. He glanced at Axel's mirror, smiling broadly. "I like it."

"Does it hurt?"

"Kinda." Roxas thought about it. Even if it _did _hurt, he wasn't going to tell Axel. He shook his head. "Not really."

"Good. Happy Valentine's Day," noted Axel. The redhead got up from his couch and made his way behind Roxas. Hastily pushing his shirt back down, Roxas tore his gaze from the mirror and turned to face Axel. The redhead was smiling, and since it was a little unnerving, the model knew that his boyfriend was up to no good. Again. "Can I see again?"

"See what?" Roxas feigned innocence.

"You know…" The tips of Axel's fingers brushed the ends of Roxas's dress shirt up a little, and the temperature in the room jumped up a few Celsius. The latter bit down on his lip, allowing Axel to continue his tactics. It was the least he could do since Axel had just bought him a tattoo, and…it wasn't like he didn't _want _him to do it. The taller started to play with the buttons on Roxas's shirt. "My present."

"You mean the tattoo?"

"No." Axel snickered, his breath ghosting over Roxas's ear as he whirled the boy around to face the mirror. "You."

"I'm your present?" Roxas repeated, watching as Axel started to unbutton his shirt. Milky white skin peeked through as his shirt fell off his shoulders and he shivered with delight as the redhead kissed his neck. It was odd, though, watching himself turn pink in the mirror as Axel's arms wrapped themselves around his middle. He kept looking; this wasn't him. This was Rokusasu Hale, not truly him. His real name was Roxas DeRenzis, and he found himself glancing away from the mirror. Axel didn't notice.

"Axel…" Roxas turned around, lacing his fingers with Axel's. He didn't even get to say what he wanted to say; Axel had kissed him on the mouth. With the couch right behind them, all Roxas had to do was bump into it and his knees buckled, causing him to fall backwards and Axel to be dragged down with him. A soft laugh escaped their lips as Axel adjusted himself so that he wasn't squishing his boyfriend. He grinned.

"Hey, sunshine."

Roxas's blue eyes flickered. "Hello," he answered awkwardly. His back ached for a split second, but Axel was being gentle with him. He could already feel the warmth spreading in his cheeks and he kept his stare on Axel's neck instead of those piercing green eyes. Axel knew what Roxas liked. Nuzzling the crook of the boy's neck, he kissed the skin there as his hands wandered over other male's chest. The redhead knew that Roxas would give in easier if he started with soft kisses first, and true enough, he could already feel the 'brunet' relaxing in his grip. He could sense the younger's breath rushing a little faster as he sucked on the base of his throat, nipping gently here and there.

"Hey, Roxas?" Axel breathed the name, eyes gazing beseechingly at his boyfriend. Roxas's eyes were glittering blue slits that were barely visible between fluttering eyelashes, but their eyes met, and Axel continued. "I love you, you know that?"

There it was again. The moment's hesitation, and this time, Axel caught it. He waited, unable to read the message in those beautiful oceanic orbs. Something about them was strangely familiar, but Axel couldn't put his finger on it. Before he could ask why Roxas wasn't responding, desperate pale hands grasped the front of Axel's shirt and he was yanked into a firm kiss.

_I do love you, _Roxas thought at the back of his head as he felt Axel's tongue probing into his mouth. _I just can't say it when I'm like this._

Taking advantage of the moment, Axel slid his knees between Roxas's legs, allowing the younger's hands to weave through his hair. His level of arousal was steadily increasing, and by the way Roxas's breath was almost hitching around his name, he could tell the other was getting aroused too. Axel was just glad that his parents were out for the night. Roxas's thoughts were anything but coherent. He couldn't think through all the little shots of sensations dancing through his nerves. He shivered as Axel pressed tight against him, and he made a little, involuntary sound that, in turn, made Axel break the kiss and start attacking his ear with damp kisses. Roxas never felt so helpless. He wanted to move closer, but to pull away at the same time, and he wanted to make Axel feel _good _too but he didn't know where to start.

Axel's breath stuttered when he felt the boy underneath him arching up; when did he start breathing this hard? Or rather, when did the room suddenly get so hot? Planting butterfly kisses down Roxas's jaw line, he listened to the little sounds the other made and he almost paused just to listen. The redhead moved his grip to the younger's thigh, feeling the muscles there jump a little. Roxas's hips jerked slightly and another moan slid out of his throat and the hand on Axel's shirt tugged, wanting more. Shuffling down, Axel traced his lips down Roxas's slender frame, teasing him with little bites and licks. The palm of his hand rubbed the boy's lower abdomen, and it was just that one slow movement that made his back arch again, made him grind up into the touch like he couldn't get enough of it. Axel kissed his stomach, and the latter could just feel that smirk on his lips through the kiss. He felt it widening as he opened his mouth to retort something but a moan worked its way up instead of words.

"_Axel…"_ was the only word that Roxas could breathe out.

Said redhead dropped his voice to a pleasant purr. "Yeah?"

"I-I…" He failed to bite down a noise that was embarrassingly squeaky. _I can't think when you're doing this to me!_

Abruptly, something vibrated in Roxas's front pocket, which was dangerously near his crotch. Both stared down with a look of disbelief, and Roxas let out a weak smile. "That's…my cell phone."

Axel simply looked amused. "I was going to say…" Reluctantly, he lifted himself up a little so that Roxas had room to retrieve his cell phone. Flipping it up, the boy held it against his ear and stammered, voice still hoarse.

"Hello?"

"Raaahxaaas, you're needed at home."

"…Demyx? I'm…in the middle of something right now." At the name of his guardian, Axel's lips curled into a charming smirk and he leaned in again. Roxas shook his head warningly at him, but the redhead paid no attention. He kissed Roxas's shoulder and the latter flushed, shying away.

"I know what you're doing. I'm outside with binoculars right now." Roxas was just about to sit up and run to the window when Demyx added, "I'm kidding. Don't check. I don't have time to stalk my favourite blond—I mean, brunet right now. Come home, I'm trying to do something with the bed and I need two people to do it. And noooo, it's not what you're thinking of."

"I wasn't going to – _ahh _say anything." Roxas let out a low sigh in the middle of his protest and he sent a glare towards Axel. _Stop it! _He mouthed. But no, Axel wasn't going to stop because he thought it was cute when Roxas was trying to suppress these kinds of noises.

"I'm trying to move the bed to a different location. Help."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He heard Axel barely repressing a snicker as he hung up, and he jabbed his elbow into the redhead's chest. "Asshole."

"You liked it," Axel stated triumphantly.

"I was on the _phone_."

"_I _would have loved to hear that over the phone." Axel allowed Roxas to wriggle and to roll out from underneath him and he watched as the boy scrambled around to pick up his shirt. He rested his head against the arm of the sofa, sighing. That was over now. He wished Demyx hadn't called. As Roxas punched his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, he stood still, inclining his head a little.

"Thanks for today."

Axel smiled, motioning the other to walk near him. Roxas obeyed, taking tiny steps towards the taller. Stealing a quick kiss from him, he whispered, "Spring break is almost here. Next week."

"Mhm," Roxas agreed. Finally, a break from school.

"Me and my friends have sleepovers all throughout the break. You're gonna be with us, right?" Roxas knew he wasn't going to have a chance to answer. The captivating smile of that redhead kept him silent. "Alright. We're sleeping over at my house first, and we'll probably all be in the living room. You don't need to bring a sleeping bag if you don't want to." He winked. "You can just sleep with me."

Roxas grabbed the nearest pillow and thwacked him across the head.

* * *

Demyx had strongly suggested that Roxas did not go to these sleepovers, but Roxas assured him that he would keep the wig on at all times, even if sleeping on it was going to be uncomfortable. He doubted the teenagers would be sleeping anyway. Then again, as hyper as they were, how were they going to pull off all-nighters throughout the whole week? They were bound to pass out one of these nights.

Larxene didn't go since she was on vacation elsewhere. It was nearly ten o'clock when Roxas arrived, and when he walked in, he saw the group sprawled on Axel's couch, watching Saw II. Sora's head was resting on Riku's lap, while Axel was sitting sideways, taking up most of the room with his long legs. Tidus was there as well, but his eyes were glued to the screen and his mouth was full of popcorn. Marluxia wasn't even interested in the movie; the model could see him already starting to doze off at one of the goriest parts of the film. _If it's not a beautiful death, he won't watch it, _Roxas thought as he raised an eyebrow.

"Starting the movie without me?"

Axel pointed at Tidus. "He insisted."

"Sorry," the other blond apologized. "I just…I really…You took too long to come!" he finally accused. Roxas shook his head, grinning. He cut off Axel's sentence of 'I can make him come faster' by saying:

"It's fine."

"Roxas, come sit." Axel patted down on his lap and just for spite, Roxas skipped over and planted himself down _beside _him. Axel's shoulders sagged in disappointment, but he consented himself by wrapping his arm around Roxas's shoulder. Riku just shook his head resignedly, his hand absentmindedly toying with the strands of Sora's chestnut hair. The brunet yawned, stretching with his arms up much like a cat.

"I'm kinda tired."

"You're going to sleep?" Riku asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Mm…no." Sora stood up, fixing his shirt as he walked towards the kitchen. "Axel, do you have any drinks?"

"Fridge. It's on your left once you walk in."

Roxas leapt off the couch as well. "I'll get something to drink too."

The two boys walked side by side to the kitchen, both giving wary looks at their boyfriends. It had been like this a while back, where they were both suspicious of the elders' antics. This time, though, there were no doubts about who liked who. Roxas pulled out a bottle of Jones, uncapping it before chugging it down. The bubbles felt funny in his throat. Sora cleared his throat, his attention focused on the counter. Roxas waited.

"Have…" Sora started, then paused. He took a breath, then spewed it out. "Have you done anything with Axel yet?"

Roxas nearly choked on his drink. "W-what? Done anything? What do you mean?" He knew exactly what Sora was asking though, but he wanted to make sure.

"Like..." Sora cast a glance back at the living room as if scared someone would be eavesdropping. "Like, have you slept with him yet?" Curiousity shone bright in those blue eyes. Roxas twisted around so that he was side-by-side with Sora, and the two stared out the kitchen window. Roxas rested his elbows on the counter, thinking.

"No." He felt Sora's weight shifting onto his other leg. "No, I haven't."

"…Are you?"

"I don't know," Roxas answered honestly.

"Me neither." Sora continued to keep his gaze on the brightest star in the night sky. "I don't know if I'm ready. Maybe…I don't know." He really sounded uncertain, and Roxas couldn't blame him. Giving his friend a jovial nudge, he beamed reassuringly.

"Don't worry. When the time comes, it'll come."

Sora scoffed, brushing his brown hair from his forehead. "Yeah, thanks Doctor Roku. What do _you _think?"

Roxas's hands clenched the edge of the counter. He didn't answer right away. How could he sleep with Axel? He knew fully well that the possibility of being revealed would be high if he even tried doing something like that with the wild redhead. Even then, he wanted to be with Axel. This bliss wasn't going to last long, and he knew it. His mind started having a debate, inner turmoil causing him to close his eyes in despair. Sleeping with Axel was going to make him feel guilty, and he was sick of feeling this way already. If Axel ever found out who he really was, he was going to feel cheated and tricked. And Roxas didn't want that. That was the last thing Roxas wanted.

Still…even then…

"I want Axel," Roxas whispered quietly, not sure if Sora could hear him. He opened his eyes, shoving his guilty conscience to the back of his head and his eyes flashed with determination. "I _really _want him."

"You look so passionate about it," Sora joked, noticing Roxas's face. The expression quickly cleared up and Roxas jerked his head up, smiling.

"I love hi—"

Black-sleeved arms abruptly wrapped themselves around Sora's waist and both boys were surprised to see Axel behind him. The redhead's lips were halfway through forming Roxas's name when he suddenly realized who he was hugging from behind. Green eyes widened considerably as he let go of Sora, shaking his arms as if burned. He received a sharp blow to the head from Riku.

"What the hell was that?"

"Ahh, I hugged the wrong person! What the fuck!" Axel rubbed his head, bewildered. He looked a bit angry with himself. "You two look the same from the back."

Roxas's heart dropped. _Another reason why I hate wearing this stupid wig, _he thought bitterly, but he couldn't help but laugh when Riku drove his knee up Axel's stomach. "I said I'm sorry!" And when there was another whack, Axel resorted to hiding behind Roxas.

"Using your boyfriend as a shield isn't gonna help." Riku started to roll up his sleeves. Since Sora knew the silveret was just fooling around, he didn't jump in. Axel, however, didn't feel like getting hit anymore, even if it was just for fun.

"Roxas, save meeee."

"Roku, move aside and let me kick his ass," Riku demanded.

Roxas didn't move for a split second, and for that moment in time, Axel actually thought that Roxas was going to stay there and protect him. But wanting revenge, he smirked and stepped aside. Axel spent the next half hour trying to run away from his best friend, and it wasn't until Riku found Axel's old baseball bat did the redhead actually start locking himself in rooms. Another half-hour later, Riku started to get bored and Tidus was done watching the movie. Marluxia, as predicted, had fallen asleep. All that running about stole all the energy the teenagers had been trying to store.

"I'm exhausted…" Axel sighed, collapsing onto his back.

Riku's chest was heaving up and down from sprinting up and down the stairs of the house. He had been lying there for quite a while now, and Sora had gotten tired of watching the two boys running around. The brunet had crawled up beside Riku and had fallen asleep. The silveret didn't mind.

"C'mere, Roxas." Axel waved him over. Blearily, the boy dragged his feet over to where Axel was and he allowed the redhead to pull on his arm until he fell over. Yanking out the blanket that Marluxia was lying on, he covered the two of them with it. Riku eyed them, green orbs devoid of jealousy. Axel fell asleep much faster than Roxas did, and soon, it was only the silver-head and the model awake. They listened to Tidus snoring, and as Riku turned over to his side, Roxas heard him mumble.

"You're going to regret it in the morning."

"Regret what?" Roxas whispered.

"Sleeping with him."

Roxas's jaw dropped. "W-what?" But Riku didn't answer. He had gone to sleep as well. Roxas wrinkled his nose and twisted onto his side so that he was now facing Axel's chest. _What did he mean by that?_

* * *

Now he knew what Riku meant. Axel had wrapped his arms around his middle during the night and now that it was morning, his iron grip would not relent. Roxas tried struggling, but it was useless. He gazed up pleadingly at Marluxia and Tidus for their help, but even Riku was just staring at him. "Guuuys," he whined, refusing to kick Axel where it hurt most. Roxas was actually surprised that his wig had managed to stay on. Sora laughed.

"Axel seems really attached to you, Roku!"

"Shut up," Roxas grumbled, trying to sound a little menacing.

"There's only one way you can get him to release you," Marluxia said, his eyes glinting mischievously. Roxas narrowed his eyes, mistrustful.

"What is it?"

Tidus strode in with a bowl of cold water. Roxas watched him hand it over to the pink-haired teenager, and the first thing that came out of Roxas's mouth was, "Just don't get me wet, okay?"

"So you have no objections to us waking your boyfriend up like this?" Marluxia raised the bowl threateningly.

"Oh, just do it before Roku changes his mind," said Riku, stepping backwards as if anticipating what was going to happen next. Marluxia turned to Tidus.

"Whatever happens, I'm not responsi—" Hastily, Tidus knocked the bowl over and Roxas immediately ducked his head. The water only splashed at his back, but Axel was the one who got the full wave of it. The moment Axel's arms sprung away from him, Marluxia reached down and grabbed the brunet by the wrist, yanking him up to his feet. He handed the bowl to Roxas and instantaneously sped out of the room. Axel spat out water.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

He glared at Riku, who shrugged, then to Tidus, who simply tried his best to look like an innocent angel, before moving his gaze onto Roxas, who held the bowl of whatever water was left. Marluxia was long gone by now. His mouth fell open. "Uh…"

"Roxas, you're so dead!"

"IT WASN'T ME!"

Roxas spent the next ten minutes trying to wriggle out of another one of Axel's bear-hugs, but this time, even if another bowl of freezing cold water was dumped over him, Axel wasn't going to let go. Though Roxas was starting to find it hard to breathe, he couldn't help but laugh. It was times like this where he could just laugh and be himself, and everything that was wrong in the world didn't seem to matter. The fact that was pretending to be Rokusasu Hale at the moment didn't matter to him right now. All that mattered was Axel.

"So, so, so," Axel whispered, squeezing the breath out of Roxas again. His wet hair tickled the younger's face. "I love you."

The words caught in his throat for a fraction of a second, but he managed to say it in the end, and goddammit, he hated the guilt and shame that followed it. "I love you too."

* * *

**A/N: **LOL, so yesh, here's the chapter for you. Hyper funstuff with a splash of emo. It took me a long time to write this, huh? Well, not really. :3 I started writing it 11:00 AM today, and I finished at approximately 7:00 PM. Oho~ Really, it only takes me a day to write this. I'm just too lazy to get the documents open. 8D Lemunz in the next chapter, if I can get myself to write it. Because tomorrow's sleepover will be at Demyx's house and probably more exciting than this one. And we all know Demyx's air-con phails. Ughh...so now I have to face a blank document again. You know how depressing that is? D: This one was like 10+ pages and now it's back to 0 for Chapter 20

So I have about 29-30 chapters planned for this story. Figure out when Axel will find out. :3 Love you readers! It's gonna take me a while to update again, just a warning. SCHOOL IS EATING ME ALIVEEE.

Bye-biee~ :3


	20. XX

**Summary****: **All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

**AN: **ARGHH. I don't even know what to say. What can I say? I don't like writing lemons. xD I'm more of a fluff person, so this chapter took super, super long. That's not the real reason. I WAS LAZY. FEEL FREE TO SLAP ME (please don't. …I'm a masochist ~) I'm so sorry! I don't deserve any of you. Enjoy the chapter…as much as you can. ;~; My apologies once again. I'M SORRY AGAIN FOR NOT REPLYING TO REVIEWS. I do read them, I really do. And I love you all for reviewing. And I really appreciate it. You guys are the best. Really. No lie. 700 words on PICKLES AND YOGURT, GUISE. 8D

**P.S: **I believe in safe lemunz. 8D I WROTE THIS IN THREE DAYS. ;;; With the help of my best friend, Ingenious Jenius, I was able to pull through a lemon. Argh. As mentioned above, I write fluff way better than I write lemons. … In my opinion. :l Here it is, guys. The chapter that makes this fic a rated M. 8D … .. kinda.

**P.P.S:** Halfway through writing this, I felt really bad for Axel, but it's moving the plot. I mean, it's helping the plot. :l Gah! /shot.

**P.P.P.S:** Honestly, my lemon wasn't really that good. Please don't be expecting too much. :l Then again, I never have faith in any of my works. Have fun reading. –heart-

* * *

**XX**

"Soooo, uh, did you hear what happened in the washroom?"

It was almost the end of break. Having fun really passed the time, but Roxas had been staying up so late for most of the nights that he found he could barely keep awake the night before this one. He found himself nearly nodding to sleep at Demyx's apartment, and the only one there at the moment, other than Demyx, was Marluxia. The last sleepover was at Demyx's place, and though usually no one slept at sleepovers, Roxas had a strong feeling that he would end up falling asleep and becoming a potential rape victim. Especially if Marluxia and Axel were in the same room as him.

Then again, technically, only Axel was sleeping over. Sora and Riku had something to do, apparently, and Marluxia didn't want to 'intrude on their alone time, though if they insisted, he could stay and watch them _do their thing_'. Roxas was pretty sure nothing was going to happen tonight, but even if something _did, _Marluxia was _definitely _not recording anything that could be his next fapping material.

Roxas lifted his head, running a hand through fake brown hair. "Huh? What happened in which washroom, what?" There were a lot of washrooms in the city. Really, _which _one?

Marluxia smirked, brushing pink hair over his shoulder. "The washroom that Sora and Riku were in, obviously. Y'know we never see them doing anything, but I walked in _La Petite Lapin_, you know, that French café down the street? I went in that washroom and I saw them making out." He snickered into his hands. Roxas _was _a little shocked to hear that Sora was making out in a washroom with his boyfriend, but it wasn't…_surprising._ So Roxas just shrugged.

"Okay?"

Marluxia gave him his best pout. "You're no fun, Roku."

"Mnn, leave me alone, Marluxia. I'm tired, and I want to sleep before anyone else gets here. And why are you so early, anyway?"

"Why else?" Marluxia smirked. "To chill with you. We barely get to talk, y'know."

Something told Roxas that it wasn't the real reason. The look he sent Marluxia finally got the pink-haired male talking, "Okay, so that's not really the reason why. I fed my dog yogurt and pickles because I thought it would be funny, but I guess … it really wasn't since she got sick afterward, and my mom had to take her to the vet. Uhh, she's kinda pissed off at me, and I've nowhere to go. Besides, I'm steering clear away from my mother until she's cooled down. Which will be … one o' clock tomorrow morning when she's asleep." Marluxia gave Roxas a quick nod and a small smirk.

Roxas didn't say anything for a while. "…Pickles and yogurt…?" He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Ew."

"Hey, don't judge. Oh, and it was expired too, the yogurt."

The model-in-disguise pretended to throw up. Marluxia looked a bit offended, but the 'brunet' didn't care. Pickles and yogurt just sounded gross. Expired yogurt just made it worse. He let his head fall into his arms, his eyelids growing heavy. Marluxia's voice floated into his ear, "You know, no one's in this room but me and you. I'll take advantage of you if you fall asleep."

"Go ahead," Roxas mumbled sleepily. "Your funeral."

Marluxia swore inwardly, knowing it was true. Axel would kill him for sure. Cut off his head and put it on a stake, and then burn it. He poked Roxas on the arm, dragging a long whine out just to annoy him, "Pleaase entertain me?"

"Go entertain yourself, asshole. The TV is free."

"You're the asshole here. Asshole."

Roxas smirked before falling asleep on the table.

* * *

"I think he's waking up."

"Yeah, well, you were nudging him for the past few seconds."

Roxas shifted slightly, wondering if this was all in his dream. He was slipping in and out of reality, and it wasn't good, because he wasn't sure what he should do. If it was a dream, he would whack whoever was poking him in the face. If it was reality…well, he would do the same anyway. So he brought his arm up and smacked the offender.

"Ow!"

"Yep, he's awake."

"Roxas, I'm hurt. Kiss it better~"

Roxas's eyes snapped open as he realized who was speaking. He blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes, rubbing them frantically to see the flaming red hair in front of him. Axel, of course. Who else would be brave enough to shake him out of his sleep? Good thing it hadn't been a nightmare, though. Everything was blurry for a second, but the boy blinked again, and Axel came into focus. The redhead was holding his cheek with one hand, grimacing. For some reason, Roxas didn't feel as sorry as he did before anymore.

"Your fault."

Axel laughed, removing his hand to give Roxas a quick hug. "Good morning, starshine. You sure you felt safe sleeping when Marley was in the same room? He coulda molested you."

"And you would have killed him," Roxas said, shooting the flamboyant teenager a look. Marluxia was perched on the edge of his sofa, watching a show about what not to wear. Somehow, Roxas wasn't surprised. Apparently, he was doing his best pretending not to hear the two talking behind his back. The teenager looked around Axel to see Riku standing with his arms crossed, an appraising look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Stop staring, then," said Roxas wearily. He was always moody when he woke up. Now was no different, even if Axel was standing in front of him in all his green-eyed glory. He rubbed the back of his neck, then made sure that his wig was still intact. Of course it was, or else the redhead would have started freaking out already. That was another thing that was sending him off into a bad mood. Keeping the secret from Axel was making him feel more uptight around him, though he was sure that he was doing a pretty good job hiding it. Sighing and shaking his head to keep those thoughts out, he muttered, "What time is it?"

"Near six. S'getting kind of dark," Marluxia said, switching the channel. "How long you guys staying for?" He swung his gaze over to Sora and Riku.

Sora shrugged, joining Marluxia by the couch. Riku inched towards the two, making sure that nothing was happening in the space between the two teenagers. "Probably leaving at around ten. Mom doesn't want me to stay too long since school is tomorrow, so Riku's driving me back. Right, Riku?" He flashed his boyfriend a bright smile, and even Riku had to give him a small twitch of a smile.

"Yeah."

"Taking one's innocence in the car isn't the ideal way to do it, Riku," Axel said, his face serious. At this, the silveret scowled and flipped his best friend off. Axel grinned as innocently as he could before turning his attention back to Roxas. The 'brunet' was hiding a yawn with the back of his hand.

"When did you guys come?"

"An hour ago. Demyx came with sushi, so we kinda … ate most of it, but I saved some for you!" Axel nervously glanced over his shoulder to make sure that his plate was still there; Marluxia had to yank his hand back real quick. Roxas's stomach growled right at that moment, and his mood lightened a bit when he saw that his boyfriend left some food for him.

"How thoughtful," Roxas murmured, reaching for the sashimi. It took him less than ten minutes to finish, and soon after, they were back to square one: nothing to do.

"Why's my uncle here?" Axel jerked his head back, motioning to whatever they could see of Zexion.

Roxas rolled his eyes in a way that meant: _isn't the answer obvious?_

Axel just smirked back. It must had been a while since Zexion had gone to _any _party. Well, this was _hardly_ a party. There was absolutely nothing to do, and Marluxia made a point of it by whining about it two seconds later.

"Isn't there _anything_ to do in this place?"

"There's—"

At that exact moment, the TV shut off, the light flickered off, and Axel chose that time to whisper not-so-quietly, "Blaaackout."

"Oh, great!" That was Marluxia. "Now my only form of entertainment is gone."

"You've got us," Riku informed dryly.

"No offense, guys, but you guys are as entertaining as a book. And that is as boring as shit."

"I'm obliged to disagree, _Marluxia._" And that was Zexion.

There was a bit of a silence, and then Sora was brave enough to pipe up, "Now what do we do?"

Roxas thought hard. Though technically it was Demyx's house, he still felt that it was his place to find something to do. Movies wouldn't work now, and neither would the PS3 Demyx had hidden somewhere in the house. The model sighed, clasping a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Well, candles right about now would be nice."

"Got 'em." Roxas heard a few objects being dropped onto the table, and he figured those were the candles. No one needed to say anything about matches. Somehow, everyone knew that Axel always kept them in his pants pocket. Soon, the living room was dimly lit by orange fire, and though Demyx had a fireplace, everyone knew that it wasn't such a good idea. It was hot enough as is. Though there was a bit of light, it didn't stop Axel from –

"Stop that." Roxas swatted the wandering hand from his rear end.

Axel sat himself down on the chair beside Roxas. "You're a tease, Roxy."

"And you're a pervert," he shot back. Axel just smirked.

"We still have nothing to do," Marluxia was smart enough to point out.

Finally, Riku was annoyed with Marluxia's constant complaining. He noticed that Demyx and Zexion were seated at the table as well, and though they were adults, he didn't find it the least bit awkward. At least, for now. He turned on the pink-haired male, a conniving little smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "Fine, then. We'll think of something to do. Why don't we talk about that one time you got caught by your mom doing—"

"That's … not necessary, thank you." Marluxia interrupted, sitting up in his seat with a cocky expression, even in the candlelight. Roxas's eyes widened and even Sora seemed to perk up with curiousity.

"What did his mom caught him doing?"

This time, it was Axel who answered, "Oh, nothing really. Doing some dance around a pole like a stripper."

"What was he dancing to?" Sora asked, not quite sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"'Pretty Woman'."

Yep. Definitely unneeded information. Roxas burst out into uncontrollable laughter, and even Demyx had to let out an amused half-giggle. He was attempting to be a little mature around Zexion, but knowing his guardian, Demyx was going to break down any second. Mature was something that just wasn't in the blond's dictionary.

"Shut up. Riku, you're dead." Seemingly, the only way to get back at the silver-haired male was to spread more embarrassing stories. The teenager's laughter was immediately stopped when Marluxia said with a sadistic smile, "What about that time you got drunk at Axel's house?"

"Sh-shut up, Marluxia. I swear to—"

"Too late. Remember that time when you got drunk at Axel's house and swore that your name was Captain Underpants…"

"SHUT UP!"

"And the cherry pie in your hand was your sidekick, which you insisted, by the way, that it wanted to get in your pants."

"I was drunk," Riku tried explaining to Sora about his stupidity, but the brunet was too busy rolling on the ground in a fit of giggles. But Marluxia wasn't even done yet.

"Oh yeah, and you were naked, except for that bed sheet tied around your neck."

Riku groaned into his hand while Roxas did everything he could to try and not imagine it. So for the next hour and a bit, they shared stories of 'did you remember's' and the most embarrassing stories of life. Roxas had barely any to share. If he was going to share something, it would be the time when he was nearly raped by one of the female models, but of course, being Roku, he couldn't say that. So instead, he cleared his throat and said,

"Actually, I got a story about Demyx."

"Heeey, Roxa—Roku!"

"What?" Roxas smiled inoffensively. "You mean you never told Zexion – sorry, I mean Mr. Hart, that you were thrust dancing the Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake with a photo of our principal attached to the broom head?"

Zexion arched an eyebrow.

"And when questioned, you said, "I'm practicing for real life.""

Silence.

"I feel violated."

"Noooo, Zexy! Don't believe Roku! Really, I didn't do that. And if I did, it … I never did, so it doesn't matter!"

Axel scoffed as Sora started saying something about an embarrassing moment of his; he leaned back and whispered into Roxas's ear, "Mm, so where am I sleeping tonight?"

"On the ground. Here." Roxas pointed down.

"With you?"

The shorter had been thinking about it, and he nodded slowly. There couldn't be anything harmful about it, right? It was going to be dark, and the moon wasn't out at all tonight. Too many clouds. Out of instinct, he said quickly, "Don't try anything funny." He didn't know why he said that. If anything, he _really _wanted Axel.

The redhead shrugged. "Wouldn't dream of it, _Rahxas._"

Roxas scowled at the distortion of his real name.

"Okay, we should probably get going," Sora said, standing up. He had been sitting on the ground in front of Riku's chair, in between Riku's legs, and as far as Roxas could tell, they weren't doing anything suspicious. Until Riku decided to clasp his legs around Sora's waist, so that the brunet was trapped. "Ack. We gotta go, Riku. Let's go, man!"

"I'm lazy. Help me up?"

It was inevitable, what was about to happen. Sora knew that he couldn't pull the silveret like this. If anything should happen, Sora would fall on top of Riku, and that was exactly what happened. Axel rolled his eyes and looked away. Roxas felt compelled to watch, just to make them feel awkward. They kissed; Sora had a little goofy smile on his face, and Roxas was grateful when Marluxia decided to reach his hands between their lips and pry them apart.

"Alright, get a room, people."

"Bye, asshole."

Marluxia left almost immediately after Riku slammed the apartment door shut. Roxas didn't even get to say goodbye, and really, he didn't mind. In a split second, he felt weight on his side, and he nearly toppled off his chair. "Axel!"

"Whaaa?" The redhead drawled the word lazily and Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Are you tired? I think we should go to sleep…"

Axel immediately whipped his head up, shaking it rapidly in disagreement. "M'not tired…"

The 'brunet' raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Liar, your words are drawing together, which means you are tired, which equates to sleep." Groaning, Axel refused to admit he was any sort of tired. A careful chuckle sounded from the other side of Roxas, a chuckle that he immediately knew belonged to Demyx, who seemed to be ready to leave with Zexion in hand.

"Well, while you two love birds argue about your bedtime, which has passed, by the way, Zexion and I will go back to my room and blanket the hotdog before hitting the sack."

Roxas scrunched his nose. "I didn't have to know that…" he muttered matter-of-factly. Demyx just sighed pulling Zexion away.

"Anyways, goodnight Roku, night Axel. Please don't do anything I wouldn't do." And with that Demyx and Zexion were gone… probably blanketing the hotdog at that very moment… whatever that meant. Glancing back at Axel, Roxas decided it was time to resume their previous argument.

"So… sleep, right?"

Axel groaned again. "Why?"

At this point, Roxas wanted to laugh; Axel really was kind of cute.

"Okay, can we at least set up our sleeping station?" That seemed reasonable enough because Axel nodded and didn't protest with any whiney noises. He helped Roxas lay out the blankets and pillows; they were going to be sleeping on carpet, so lying on the ground for one night wasn't going to hurt. The only thing that was bothering Roxas was if he had one of his nightmares while Axel was around. He didn't want that to happen.

Getting everything done took less than five minutes, and soon, Axel and Roxas were lying side by side, both staring at the ceiling. The model suddenly felt a wave of heat, and groaned. Axel glanced at him. "What?"

"Power's out. It's gonna be stifling hot tonight."

"Ohh, I don't mind." Roxas could have sworn that he saw Axel wink in the dark. He rolled onto his side, grumbling under his breath. No, he was not going to do anything with Axel tonight. Even if it was going to be hot. …Even if being hot meant that he was more likely to change his mind. He rubbed his head. It was too dark to even see the colour of his hair. He decided that maybe taking off his wig wasn't going to be such a bad idea. After all, he only needed to wake up early in the morning to fix it back on. Axel, being a heavy sleeper and all, wasn't going to notice a thing. Roxas deemed it safe, and then … took off his wig. He put it beside him on the ground, just in arm's reach.

"Hey, Roxas?"

Roxas abruptly rolled back onto his back, heart beating out of his chest. He actually thought that Axel was calling him by his real name, but then he remembered that the redhead had always called him by this name. Still, without the wig, he felt like it was just…him.

"Yeah?"

A soft whine could be heard. "Are you really going to sleep?"

Roxas sighed. "Yes. Now shush, Axel. Good night."

"…Good night, Roxy."

* * *

Roxas didn't know what time it was, but it was still dark, and he couldn't … go back to sleep. It was just too hot. He felt like he literally couldn't breathe, and even as he sat up to take in a huge gulp of breath, it didn't help. Groaning in frustration, he slid a hand up his shirt and thought about taking it off. He was halfway through sliding it over his head when he heard a chuckle on his left.

"Alriiight, Roxas, stripping for me?"

Roxas gave a soft yelp, turning around. He had forgotten he was lying on the ground next to Axel. It was still too dark to see, but Axel seemed to have noticed movement. Yes, still to dark to see hair colour. Roxas was safe for now. "It's so hot," he complained, taking off his shirt. The minute it was off, he felt a bony hand groping for his wrist; it found him and yanked him down. Axel had taken off his shirt as well, and now this skin-to-skin contact was feeling just a _little_ bit awkward. "Um…"

"I like it hot," Axel whispered huskily.

Roxas frowned, pushing himself onto his elbows and resting them on Axel's chest. "You're horny," he accused.

"Sorry, love, is that a crime?"

"No, but I was expecting you to keep it in your pants for at least one more night."

"You mean you would have slept with me tomorrow?"

"…No…" But before Roxas could say anymore, Axel leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips. A dry chuckle made its way through Axel's throat.

"Ah, I missed. I can't see in the dark."

Roxas grinned. "It was pretty close, though." He trailed his finger down Axel's face, finding the other teenager's lips before connecting his with Axel's. The redhead's strong arms wrapped themselves around Roxas, pulling the younger flush against him. Soon, a little innocent kiss turned into a not-so-innocent one, one with tongue and everything felt hot and –

"Roxas?" Axel pulled away, gulping down air.

"Hm? Ah!" Roxas was only startled for a second, and his whispered shout could barely be heard when Axel flipped him onto his back. "What are you…?"

Even though it was dark, the model was pretty sure that he had a good grasp on what Axel's intentions were. Was he really ready for this? It … should be fine, right? He didn't even know anymore, and for once, he didn't care. He wanted this one night for himself, just for him to stop _thinking _of the consequences, to stop thinking about the 'what if's', and everything that had to do with his fake identity. This was him, and though Axel didn't know, this was the real him. No wig, no Roku. It was just Roxas DeRenzis.

And he wanted Axel, and he knew it.

"Can I…?"

At first, Roxas nodded, but he realized that the redhead couldn't see, so he whispered out a soft consent. Axel lowered his head and nuzzled Roxas's neck, one hand caressing his hair (and for the first time, it was his real hair), and the other working on Roxas's pajama pants. When it was _this _hot in a room, and their clothes were sticking to their skin, yes, it was quite hard to pull down his pants. Axel got it off in the end.

Though it was hot there was still a difference in temperature when Roxas was freed from his pajama pants, A slight cold air prickled against his legs, subsiding the effect of the nearly suffocating heat, but, of course, it wouldn't subside the heat that was pooling within his stomach, making his want stronger than before.

Axel's green eyes were glowing in the dark with hunger and Roxas knew what he wanted. Hell, he wanted it too, which was why the look in Axel's eyes didn't stop him from locking their lips for the second time that night.

This kiss seemed a lot more urgent and passionate, and so wrong, yet so right. Both of their eyes were narrowed to slits and Roxas was damned if he were to close his eyes; he wanted to keep his eyes locked with Axel the whole time and Axel felt the same way.

Roxas's eyes only did completely close when Axel's hand trailed down his abdomen at a teasingly slow pace.

"_Axel," _the blond whispered between this kiss, getting the attention of his boyfriend. "I'm not sure … how because…you know," he trailed off. Axel grinned, nuzzling his nose into Roxas's cheek.

"It's okay, I'll guide you." He sat up. Using all the power he had in his arms, Axel lifted his 'brunet' onto himself.

"We could start with simple grinding," Axel thrust his hips upward as if this were to confirm that yes, this was simple grinding. "Or we can just cut the chase and get straight to the point," he muttered, his voice husky.

"I'm nervous," Roxas whispered breathily, biting down a soft moan as Axel's hips brushed against his own again. And really, he didn't know which one he wanted. Was he supposed to choose? Well, if it happened, it happened. Axel didn't wait for his answer; his hand brushed by his hair in a way that meant: you don't have to be nervous. He felt Axel's breath in his ear, and then he heard fabric rubbing against fabric, and he knew that Axel was sliding out of his pants.

Was he really going to go through with this?

…Screw thinking about it. He wanted Axel. As if he hadn't decided that already.

"Let me try something?" Axel asked, capturing a quick kiss on where he thought Roxas's mouth was. Roxas couldn't help but snicker when the teenager's lips touched his nose, and Axel groaned in exasperation as he tried again.

"Was that it?" Roxas breathed as Axel started to shift down.

"No." Roxas felt his boxers being tugged down, at right there, he realized what Axel wanted to do. "Keep it down, huh? You don't wanna wake _them_ up_._" Roxas had a feeling that Axel meant Demyx and Zexion. Of course, who else was there?

"Wait a—_ahh,_" Roxas started to say, but his words were choked off by a surprised gasp. Needless to say, he was taken aback by the sudden warmth around his member, and the heat pooling in his stomach intensified. His legs parted and his hips bucked upward instinctively, but a hand on his hips told him that he was bound to choke the redhead if he continued doing so. His hand tangled in red spikes and Roxas gasped again, blue eyes wide as Axel pleasured him.

Then he remembered what Axel said, and he clamped a hand over his mouth. It would be a little awkward if Demyx or Zexion had to yell back at them to shut the hell up. Axel chuckled as he bobbed his head up and down; Roxas was just too cute. And it was even cuter, the noises that his boyfriend made as he reacted to every little move that he did. A barely audible moan could be heard as Axel sucked particularly hard, and the hand that had weaved itself in flaming red hair tightened. He knew he was driving Roxas over the edge, and instead of teasing the boy any further, he stopped. A whimper of disappointment cut through the silence.

"Axel…" There was a pleading edge in Roxas's voice, and Axel smirked, caressing the younger's hair once again. It was surprisingly soft. He wondered why he had never bothered to do this. The fact that Roxas had been attempting to keep his hands _from _his hair never went through his head, and his thoughts halted altogether when Roxas kissed him on the cheek. "Can…Can I try?"

Roxas sounded so innocent that it was cute. Axel, of course, had no objections to this, but he wasn't sure how to guide the 'brunet'. As he felt his own boxers being pulled down, gently at first, and then rougher by the second, he leaned back, balancing himself on his elbows. He saw the dark silhouette of Roxas's form lowering, and then he felt hot breath against his own length. A small, tentative lick caused the taller to roll his head back. Roxas, without knowing, was teasing him out of his mind, but he kept himself patient. The boy was experimenting, after all, and Axel was in no mood to rush him.

However, he was shocked when he felt half his length being taken into warmth. "R-Roxa—" And then his entire cock was engulfed by pleasurable heat, and he moaned softly. With Roxas being a beginner at this, he was pretty good.

Roxas really had no idea what he was doing. All he was doing was mimicking Axel, doing his best to copy what the redhead had done to him. Hearing the distinct groans from the redhead, he guessed that he was doing it right, which pleased him. He was about to go further, but a sharp shudder from the redhead told him that maybe he was taking it too far. Moving back, he opened his mouth to ask whether or not he should continue, but Axel had already started advancing towards him. Roxas had to strain his ears in order to hear his husky whisper.

"I can't wait anymore."

_Neither can I._

Axel lowered the 'brunet' onto his back, making sure that the boy was comfortable before positioning himself over him. Axel kissed him, and through the kiss, he felt his boyfriend shudder with anticipation. A hushed whisper of 'please, Axel' was all the encouragement that the redhead needed. It was so dark and he couldn't see a thing, but he reached over for the pants that he had been wearing earlier and groped for his pockets. Roxas blinked in the darkness, and then realization dawned on him.

_Oh, yeah. Protection…_

But that was as far as he got through thinking, because the next thing he knew, he sensed something at his entrance, and fear took over him. Fear of what happened when he was younger, and he tensed, his hands gripping Axel's shoulder. He heard a hiss of pain from the redhead as his nails dug into the skin and right away, Axel knew what was wrong. "Wait, wait…"

"Roxas, look at me – oh." Axel had forgotten. It was too dark to see, so he did the next best thing, and he kissed Roxas on the mouth. This time, he didn't miss. "Hey, hey. It's me. You know me. I'm … I'm not going to hurt you."

"Axel—"

"I…" Axel's voice dropped. "I can stop if you like."

Roxas paused. He knew that Axel didn't want to stop. He _knew _that Axel _wanted _him as much as Roxas wanted Axel. But he was giving Roxas the choice of stopping, and that was all he needed. Axel wasn't Sephiroth, and right now, nothing else in the world mattered more. The 'brunet' kissed Axel back, a small smile on his lips. "I don't want you to stop."

They were already so far.

Roxas winced as Axel penetrated him, but he reminded himself not to be afraid. It hurt, yes, but not as much as before. The pain here was nothing compared to before, and Axel was already being as gentle as he could possibly be. A soft moan could be heard from both boys, and automatically, Roxas's arms wrapped themselves around Axel's neck, bringing their lips together again. The kiss was hot, searing, something to distract Roxas from the agony down there, and Axel was more than compliant to explore the other's mouth with his tongue.

"_Hn…Axel…_y-you have to mo…ve…" Roxas's breath hitched in his throat as Axel pulled back, and thrust back in all the way in a single smooth move. Roxas's head rolled back as a low moan of pleasure and pain ripped through his throat, and Axel chose the moment to attack the boy's neck with kisses. "…Hurts…"

"It'll be better," Axel promised, flicking his tongue up Roxas's neck, leaving a trail of saliva to his ear, where Axel nibbled on the lobe. A breathy whimper from Roxas could be heard, and he trembled underneath him as the redhead slid out and back in again, a steady rhythm breaking out. Ragged breaths sounded from both teenagers; the heat…Roxas… "_Roxas_…"

He was pulled into another desperate, hot kiss, and just then, Roxas moaned loudly. Neither two were too worried about the other two waking up, and plus, Demyx was a pretty heavy sleeper. But Roxas couldn't help it; Axel thrust in and aimed perfectly for his prostate, causing a shudder to rock Roxas's small frame. "_Ahhn…Axel-! Ah…" _He tried dropping his voice to a whisper, but he was finding it quite impossible to do at the moment. Axel didn't seem to mind too much, but he ravished Roxas's mouth for the time being, keeping him silent as he speeded his thrusts. Roxas was now rolling his hips with every movement that Axel made, and every thrust made the boy underneath gasp out a muffled cry of uncontrollable pleasure.

Roxas wanted to construct a sentence, he really did. But with Axel rocking into him, he couldn't even form out one word. "Axel…I'm … _ahn _– gonna…c-co…!"

"Yeah," Axel muttered, his pace quickening. "Me too."

He really wanted to see Roxas's face, but getting up right at this moment to turn on the light would ruin everything (in more ways than one), so he continued to plunge deeper, harder into Roxas, throwing them both closer to coming. Both were reaching their climax pretty soon, and merely a few seconds after, Roxas trembled, coming hard onto the redhead's stomach and clamping down onto the other's member. Axel groaned out Roxas's name and released powerfully as well, slumping against the 'brunet', exhausted. He pulled out soon after, and threw the condom into the garbage beside. How convenient.

"Hey," Axel whispered, his words coming out as a pleased mumble; Roxas couldn't blame him. He was feeling rather sleepy as well. "I love you."

A small pang of guilt hit the model's heart, and he knew why he suddenly felt bad. He tensed, cuddling into Axel's chest. He didn't want to think about it. Not after this. Not after what they did together. He felt Axel's arm around him, rubbing his back, and he whispered back, "I love you too." And he meant it.

He just wasn't sure which person Axel was saying 'I love you' to. He was Roxas DeRenzis right now, but Axel didn't know that. He felt terrible for lying. He had to tell the truth soon. But he didn't think too much on it; he fell asleep almost right away.

Twenty minutes before six in the morning, Roxas woke up to take a shower. And he took his wig with him.

* * *

"Wake up, Axel!"

Axel groaned as Roxas jumped him, the weight winding him. He gasped for breath, then clutched onto Roxas's shirt, glowering at him with mocking menace. "What was that for?" Roxas grinned, kissing him on the lips. His brown hair was fixed over the blond strands, so Axel knew nothing. Still, the boy was in a good mood.

"I can barely walk," accused Roxas in a soft voice.

Axel grinned, saying, "Yeah, and I have no pants on. Mind getting me those?" He jerked his head over to his pants, which were lying just a few feet away from them. Axel stood up to slide into his jeans, and while he was buckling his belt, Roxas couldn't help but keep his eyes on that body. How he wished the light was on, but he knew better than that. Axel smirked, catching his stare. "Keep on staring. I won't charge you."

Roxas shot him a look before jumping into his arms, kissing him. They stayed like that for a while. That was, until Demyx decided to walk in with his arms up, yawning and stretching. "You know, I would have thought you two were smart enough not to do anything. You were lucky your uncle was asleep, or else that would have been _really _awkward." Even Axel had to flush at these words. Roxas bit down on his bottom lip.

Caught.

But Demyx didn't seem to be mad. He sent Roxas a look: _As long as you know what you're doing, Roxy. _

Roxas returned the look with a smile. He knew what he was doing.

At least, he hoped he did.

* * *

**AN: **So, uhhh, how was that? Kekeke ~~~ I'm nervous. Pffft. In any case, even if you didn't find it that mnbcmvnbxmcv meh, thanks for reading. I really appreciate all the alerts and the favourites and the reviews ! Err...hope you don't mind waiting another two years for the next update ~ 8D

KIDDING! ...mayhaps.


	21. XXI

**Summary****: **All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life for once, go to high school and learn new things. What he didn't expect was a particular hormonal redhead to make things a little…complicated. Boy love~

* * *

**AN: **HAHAHAAHAH, HOW MUCH HATE DO YOU GUYS HAVE FOR ME? I'M FINALLY DONE AFTER SIX MONTHS. OTL  
Okay, I said I was gonna edit all my chapters because my typo fails with commas and periods and mixing them up and such and such, but there are nineteen chapters or so to edit, and I'm just too lazy to. I'll get around to it one day, but I hope you guys don't mind my earlier chapters and the mistakes I have made grammatically with commas and periods and capitalization and stuff.

and yes, there is a line from Misfits here. :3 and i got the idea of riku sleeping in class from my friend, ash. :D his spoken line is from her as well. STOP SLEEPING CLASS, ASH. PILLOW LOL.

I LOVE YOU ALL. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME TO THE END. I've no idea when i'll be updating again, so please bear with me! Even though I don't really reply to your reviews, just know that I do read them, and each and every one of them makes me smile. I just don't have time to reply. ;; I'll try to, but no guarantees. JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU FOR THEM. But, umm, here ~

* * *

**XXI**

Axel had no idea what it was, but now whenever Roxas looked at him during class, there would always be a faint blush tinting the blond's cheeks. They were complete opposites the following week. The redhead knew that things would get awkward and giddy between them since they had slept together – no, that wasn't just it. They had slept together and _someone had heard them. _It was just a good thing that Demyx decided to keep his mouth shut, or Roxas might have actually had to break his sitar. Their eyes met again for the hundredth time since there wasn't anything else that was half as interesting to look at, and Roxas ducked his head down; Axel caught the blush on his face anyway.

The taller male leaned against his palm and smiled, shamelessly staring at his coffee-haired boyfriend. He knew things would be like this, but it never occurred to him that Roxas would be the one feeling awkward and that _he _would be the one feeling giddy. The two feelings had split themselves between the two, and it was quite an uneven division. Still, Axel didn't mind. He enjoyed making Roxas embarrassed, because then he could see the red rising up in the other's cheeks. It was too amusing to ignore.

Cerulean eyes snapped up to see if those captivating emerald orbs were stalking him again, but Roxas should have known that before glancing up to check. Their seating arrangement had been switched around so that Axel now had a clear view of Roxas without having to crane his neck, and the same went for Roxas, but at least the 'brunet' didn't spend every second of the day lifting his head up to check the other out. Sending the redhead a glare, he mouthed the words: "_Quit staring at me, will you?_" The intensity in Axel's eyes increased even more, if anything, and Roxas suddenly felt violated by that entrancing stare. It was like his clothes were burning away by just his eyes, and the blond shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Trust Axel to do something like this in the middle of the day. Roxas planted his forehead into the palm of his hand before returning his attention to his work. For the rest of the class, he could sense Axel's perverted stare boring into his forehead, and immediately, warmth crawled up his neck and into his face.

After a few minutes, it seemed like Roxas wasn't the only one who noticed Axel's lack of attention on his work.

"Axel, we know you're sexually deprived. The whole world can see you making bedroom eyes at Roxas," Rikku announced loudly for the whole class to hear, and embarrassed laughter trickled around the students as Axel regained his composure; he was shocked that someone had noticed his not-so-strange behaviour.

"Ah, sorry. You can't join in on our eye-sex. Wednesday is threesome day, so talk to me then, okay, Rikku?" Axel's face split into a wide, child-like grin. The blonde rolled her eyes, returning the smile.

"I'll put that into my agenda." She laughed. "Not."

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but someone else cut in before he could get a word out. "I don't think this is appropriate talk for a history classroom." Ms. Lockheart interrupted, though a shadow of a smile crossed her lips. Meanwhile, the colour in Roxas's cheeks had rapidly changed from a light pink to a burning hue of crimson. He ducked his head, allowing his fake auburn hair to conceal his face.

He was going to kill Axel for this.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the school, things were a little more innocent on Sora and Riku's side of the world. Passing shy smiles to the silveret, he pulled out his clarinet and waited for the instructions from the teacher. He had barely practiced this week, so he hoped he wouldn't be called on to present his part for the new song. His mind had been full of other things the entire week, most of them consisting of a certain person whose named started with 'R' and ended with 'iku'.

Riku didn't mind the wait of not doing anything. For Sora, he would do anything, but he knew better than to say something _that _cheesy out loud. He hoped Sora would understand anyway, and with the little smiles and slight touched he received every day, he knew that Sora knew. However, right now, he could barely function his body. He was so tired that he was literally using his desk as a pillow. He was just about to dose off when he heard his music teacher ask the class,

"Does everyone have their folders?"

"I have my pillow," Riku mumbled a little too loudly, his mind a little befuddled from lack of sleep. The whole class fell silent, and then laughter burst out from all sides. Even the teacher had to give a small smile. Riku _just _noticed what he had said, and he pursed his lips, keeping his face straight. No, he wasn't going to show the class that he had just been humiliated.

"Alright!" Their teacher slapped the music scores onto the table before announcing, "We're short of percussion players today, so I'll need someone to fill in for them today. Who's up for the job?"

Sora's hand shot right up as soon as those words left the music teacher's mouth. She sent him a warm smile before pointing to the back. "That's where you go, Sora. I assume that you already know your part."

"…Yeah!" Sora's answer had come after a hesitation, but the woman didn't seem to notice. Riku shook his head, looking down at his score sheet as he smiled. He nearly jolted out of his seat when his teacher asked for one more person. He found himself standing up without thinking, and she smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you, Riku."

Slightly flustered, Riku just nodded and turned heel, glancing at Sora. The brunet waved him over to the back, and it was at that moment that Riku had a small epiphany. He was going to be at the back, alone, with Sora. Alone. _Together. _He smacked his head; they were still in school; this was no time to be thinking of something like that.

Sora was already banging softly on the drums before Riku joined him. The brunet sent him an excited grin. "Glad you could join me," he commented lightly.

Riku smirked. "Don't mention it." The silveret really had no intentions playing the percussion instruments so he had no idea why he was there in the first place. He contemplated for a while before deciding to walk over and sit on the table that had been pushed against the back wall. Placing the palms of his hands behind him, he leaned back and watched the back of Sora's head as he tuned the timpani.

"Do you even know how to play?" Riku asked.

Sora shook his head with a smile. "I can always learn; it shouldn't be too hard. All you have to do is hit it, right?" He dashed the stick against the surface of the instrument, only to have a horrible out-of-tune echo to ring in everyone's ears. The whole class winced, and Riku resisted the urge to laugh aloud. Sora smiled sheepishly. "Okay, so it's not _that _easy."

"No. Here." Riku handed him the tambourine, taking the timpani sticks from Sora's hands. "You can't go wrong with this. Just stay on beat." The tips of their fingers grazed against each other's briefly, but this time, Sora did not pull away.

As the song began, the teacher did not seem to notice that Riku was doing little to no percussion playing. Sora was happily playing with his own tambourine, casting backwards glances at Riku and flushing with embarrassment when he found out that Riku's eyes were not on his face. At a long, slow moment of rest, Sora skittered backwards, almost knocking over a Mt. Everest of music textbooks. His legs bumped into Riku's.

"Why are you sitting and not playing?" Sora asked, curious.

Riku shrugged, his aquamarine eyes blatantly staring into Sora's eyes. Not wanting to become a blushing phenomenon, Sora hastily whirled around and hid his face – but not before he felt something clamping down around his waist. He gasped, dropping his gaze down to see Riku's knees restricting him from moving any further. He squirmed as he struggled.

"Hey, Riku. What are you doing?"

"Nothing." The teasing tone was evident here. Though he knew Riku couldn't see, Sora pulled a skeptic look and twisted around to see the other. Riku was smiling, and Sora suddenly felt a need – and a want – to kiss him. He had no idea what came over him in that fraction of a second, but he quickly teetered forward and pecked Riku on the lips. Those beautiful blue-green eyes widened, but didn't object, and time froze. Or maybe that was because the music suddenly ceased on one side.

The next thing he knew, Sora's teeth smashed into Riku's as something hard whipped at the back of his head. Riku recoiled, the back of his hand pressed against his bruised lips. His eyes narrowed as he looked past Sora and saw his friend, and a fellow classmate, smirking and slowly turning his back on the two. The silveret supposed he should have been thankful for that or they would have been caught by the teacher. Now that would have been troublesome. Sora had already gone back to his tambourine playing, but Riku could see the pink seeping up the brunet's neck.

His eyes fell down to see the whiteboard eraser that had been whipped at the back of his boyfriend's head. He made a little mental note to repay his friend later with a sharp smack to his head with his heaviest textbook.

Stealing a quick glimpse at the teacher, Riku decided that he didn't care if someone was looking. No one ever glanced back except for his friend, but he didn't count. Striding up behind Sora, he wrapped his arms around the other's lithe waist and rested his chin on the crook of Sora's neck. His eyes snapped up in time to see Sora grinning, and Riku smiled.

Finally, everything seemed good.

* * *

"You know that thing that you did on the first day of school?" Roxas asked as he quickened his pace to catch up with Axel. The redhead slowed down, reminding himself that he had longer legs than the brunet.

"What? You mean making you crash into the locker?" Axel grinned mischievously at the memory.

Roxas rolled his eyes as his voice dripped with sarcasm. "Haha. Something like that. I meant what you did before I crashed into the locker."

"Oh, you mean this?" Axel put his fingers to his mouth and wolf-whistled. To Roxas, that was a one-of-a-kind sound. Though the taller male had been looking at Roxas the entire time, it was unfortunate that a glamorous lady _just_ happened to walk past him, and with an offended glare, she whacked him across the head with her purse and stalked off. "Ow! Lady! What was that for?" Axel rubbed the back of his head as Roxas burst out laughing.

They stopped at a corner, leaning against the wall. Axel waited patiently for Roxas to stop laughing. "Yeah," the teenager choked out through chuckles. "The whistle was what I was talking about. How do you do that?"

Axel stared at him for a little bit before throwing his head back and laughing. "You want to learn? From me? Alright, I'm not a good teacher, but … hey, can you curl your tongue?" Axel showed him what he meant. Roxas never knew that was what it was called. He nodded, sticking his tongue out. Axel nodded his approval. "That makes things a bit easier. Okay, so, here's how you do it."

It took Roxas at least ten minutes to try and try again until he got it right. Soon, he was whistling at everything, but he kept away from people. He whistled at Axel, whistled at a bird, whistled at Axel, whistled at a wall, until the redhead rubbed his eyes and said, "Roxy, I know you're sexually deprived and you want to hump that wall, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't cheat on me _in front _of me."

Roxas laughed. _God_, Axel loved that laugh.

"Why do you want to learn how to whistle like that anyway?" He arched an eyebrow at the shorter male.

Roxas shrugged. "I just wanted to. It's something that you can do, and it sounds pretty cool. It's like a bird call. You can always get my attention with it, just like that first day of school."

"Got that memorized, huh?" Axel smirked, leaning down to sweep his lips over Roxas's cheek.

Lots of things crossed Roxas's mind, but he couldn't decide on what phrase to use to respond. Everything that he wanted to say always came out cheesy, so he decided against it. He stayed silent and just smiled.

* * *

Three weeks had passed and Roxas couldn't believe that it was April. He had been in school for how long now? Eight months, but it seemed much longer than that. Time passed by quickly, and he even found that the tests weren't as hard as he thought. Exams, however, were a different matter, but no one was freaking out yet. Besides, no one in the school actually started studying until one to two weeks before the actual first exam. Roxas learned that from the tests.

The modeling sessions continued on. He continued to model since it was still a part of his life. As the season changed, there were more demands for him to model off and pose for the latest spring designs. Spring had always been a beautiful season, so he did not mind too much about these styles of clothes. He was still ecstatic about everything that was happening to him in general. He decided that applying to school behind his uncle's back was definitely worth it in the end.

He agreed to everything the photographers told him to do, as long as he found it appropriate. His mind was wandering around in thoughtless bliss. He became less grouchy during these times and was twice as affable as he used to be.

Apparently, it was noticed by others as well. Demyx pointed out that little detail every so often.

"Have you been studying?" Demyx started off conversationally. It was a sunny morning, and even Roxas's smile was sunny. The blond knew there was something else on his friend's mind, but he answered anyway,

"There's nothing to study for. Exams are two months away."

Demyx nodded, though he wasn't really listening. The taller blond fiddled with the pen in his hands, but his attention was soon drawn to Roxas as the boy cleared his throat impatiently.

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm just worried," Demyx confessed, flailing his arms in the air. "You know I hate seeing you in trouble, and I know you've heard this from me ten thousand and one times already, but I can't get it out of my head. I'm just getting a really bad feeling about this since you're digging yourself a bigger hole."

Roxas forced out a laugh despite the growing feeling of discomfort in his chest. "You know, I'm worried I'm going to get into trouble, too. What are people going to think when they find out that my guardian is dating my principal?"

At this, the tension in Demyx's shoulders disappeared and he playfully pouted. "Now that's not fair."

"Just playing with you." Roxas grinned.

"In all seriousness, though." Demyx lowered his voice, his eyes darting left and right to make sure no one was listening in on them. "I might have to tell Zexion."

To Roxas's own surprise, he wasn't completely thrown off by this statement. "Why?"

Demyx gave him a sideways glance and a look that read: _do I really have to explain myself?_ "I don't really think Zexion knows much about you anyway. He doesn't read magazines."

"Neither does Axel. He doesn't even _look _at anything with my face on it."

Demyx paused. "Still. I don't want any secrets between me and Zexy. Because that is what adults do. They tell each other everything.

Roxas sent him a glare but softened it when he realized Demyx was still mildly joking around. He thought long and hard. He couldn't ruin Demyx and Zexion's relationship just because he wanted to keep this one secret. Besides, Zexion seemed trustworthy enough. The blond shrugged his shoulders. "As long as he keeps it a secret as well, okay, Dem—"

He didn't even finish his sentence when Demyx pumped his fist into the air with a loud cry of "YES!" Roxas just laughed. He stretched, raising his arms above his head. He felt the cool, air-conditioned air of the model studio brushing against his exposed skin on his back as his shirt lifted. It was a good stretch.

It might have been in his imagination, but he could have sworn he heard a faint click behind him. He lowered his arms back down to his sides and glanced around. No one. He merely shrugged and brushed it off as if it were nothing. It _had _been nothing, after all.

* * *

A week later, and Roxas was starting to get a really bad feeling in his stomach. In a few more months, it was going to be exam finals, and Axel would be graduating. It was nearly the end of school, and Roxas was running out of time. He knew he needed to tell Axel before school ended. He just didn't want the redhead to misunderstand. It would be the worst thing that could happen to him; losing one of the best things that had ever happened to him in his entire life.

The 'brunet'restlessly tapped his pencil on the side of his desk as his blue eyes sought out the clock above the door. This class lecture was droning on and on and on and … he thought he would have passed out if he wasn't so nervous. He was going to force himself to tell Axel today. He couldn't wait any longer, or it would be too late.

Six minutes before the bell rang. He swung his attention to the teacher, urging the time to speed up. Time was being torturous at the moment, though, and every second seemed to tick by even slower just to taunt him. Sighing, he buried his head in his arms and waited. And waited.

"Alright, your homework is on the board. Have a good weekend, class."

Roxas nearly shot up from his seat but the noise was drowned out by the rest of the class pushing their chairs back. It seemed everyone was eager to start the beginning of their weekend. Roxas, with his big smile, quickly pushed his chair in under his desk while scribbling down the assigned homework before clambering between students to get to the door. He knew Axel would be waiting by the lockers.

Or not.

When he skidded to a stop next to his locker, he craned his neck to see where Axel was. No, no flaming red spikes of hair could be seen. Roxas let out a puff of air before swiveling around on the heel of his foot. When doing so, he was planning on breaking into a run towards the gym, but his face collided into someone's hard chest before he could step forward.

"Axel!"

Pulling away, Roxas grinned nervously. The redhead towered over him with an enormous smile and trapped the smaller with his own lean body. "Excited to see me?"

"You wish," Roxas automatically retorted back. He was about to push the other off him when Axel's body pummeled into his. He gave a shout of surprise, but Axel immediately got off him and whirled around to yell at someone. Apparently, he had been pushed, and, apparently, it had been Riku who had done it. Smirking, the silveret just walked away from Axel's stuck-up middle finger. As he caught the redhead's attention again, he uttered in one breath, nervous, "Can I talk to you?"

With all the racket around him, Roxas almost missed Axel's reply. "Talk about what?" For a fraction of a second, Axel's eyebrows furrowed together with mild concern, but it cleared up in a millisecond. He wiggled his eyebrows. "'Talk', huh?"

"Not _that _kind of talking," Roxas said quickly, rolling his eyes.

"Stay as long as you want." Axel shoved his books into his locker without having his eyes leave Roxas, which caused his Physics textbook to drop on his foot. As he jumped up and down, swearing under his breath, Roxas waited for him to calm down. Axel threw the book in and slammed the locker shut before turning back to Roxas. "I've got the car today, so I can drive you back to Demyx's apartment."

"Cool," Roxas said happily.

"Let's just wait until this mess clears up. Want to go somewhere private?" As Axel jerked his thumb back to the thinning crowd, his eyebrows started to move up and down again. Roxas pushed at him in a playful manner. The crowd was already starting to disappear. Everyone had rushed out to catch their bus, and soon after, it was only Axel, Roxas, and that one random kid at the far end of the hallway. He didn't matter.

"Can you be serious just this once?"

Roxas blinked; Axel had tapped his nose lightly with the tip of his forefinger. "It's just so hard when you're so cute and I'm so horny." Even the shorter boy couldn't keep the big grin from spreading on his face at those words.

"Knock it off, Ax."

It was hard being serious when his boyfriend was so lively and cheerful. Roxas could already imagine his face falling and his expression distorting to one of anger as soon as his proclamation leaves his mouth. He watched as Axel leaned against the lockers with his shoulder and as that big grin plastered on his face. Roxas took a deep breath.

"What's up, Rox?"

The moment he said that, the words got caught in Roxas's throat and he found that he couldn't say it. He found himself staring into those beautiful emerald eyes and he swallowed hard. Axel tilted his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah…"

Of course, Axel wasn't convinced. "You don't look okay. Something on your mind?" At this, he placed two hands over his heart dramatically and said with a big smile, "You know you can tell me _anything, _love. Someone bothering you? I can protect you with my life, O Roxas the great." Always dramatic, his Axel.

Roxas burst out a short laugh before staring at him skeptically. "Really?"

"Really what?"

"Protect me." Roxas didn't know what compelled him to say it, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He bit down on his tongue a second too late, but Axel seemed unfazed by the question.

"Of course." A genuine smile passed over Axel's lips, and for a moment, Roxas wondered if he told this guy his secret, would he ever look at him like that again? "Though, all seriousness put aside, what's the matter? You're looking kind of pale."

Roxas forced a laugh out. He had to stow his hands into his pockets to keep them from shaking. Axel must have noticed his sudden discomfort because the next thing he knew, the blond was pulled into a firm hug. A sharp gasp escaped him but he kept still, burying his head into Axel's chest. He took his hands out of his pockets and shakily wrapped them around Axel's lithe waist. He never knew a hug could feel this good.

"You know I'm always here for you, Rox." Axel whispered into the blond's hair. "You're scaring me, though. You're not…" He pulled Roxas away from him and bent down a little to meet his eye-level, a stern look on his face. "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

"What?" Roxas's voice cracked; he _was _shocked. "No, no, that's not it at all."

The worry from those green orbs disappeared and Axel's playful grin was back on his face. "Didn't think so. Who could break up with a handsome guy like me?"

"Oh, you're a joker." Roxas smirked. "Don't flatter yourself."

Axel leaned down and pecked Roxas on the lips. "Is that all, Roxy? Or am I allowed the privilege of riding you home – I mean giving you a ride back to your house? I wouldn't object to having dinner there as well."

Though the smile stayed on Roxas's lips, inside his head, his thoughts were all over the place. The strongest one was: _wait another day. Just one more day. Tell him tomorrow. Wait __**one **__more day. _Roxas shook his head. Then he nodded his head, forcing the lie to come out. "Yeah, that was it." _I'll tell him tomorrow. I promise._

"Fantastic." Axel raised his skinny arms over his head and stretched, his mouth opening in a wide yawn. Roxas could see his canine teeth. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck as guilt took over him once again. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. He really _was_ starting to run out of time. He trailed after Axel, hiding behind the other's shadow. He pushed aside the overpowering feeling and tried to make himself a little happier. Without thinking twice, he rushed up behind Axel and tackled him with a hug.

They were laughing and struggling to breathe by the time they reached the doors. Axel had been trying to tickle Roxas to get him off, and Roxas was holding on for dear life. Breathless, Roxas clambered off his back and darted around him to get to the doors. "You know, for a short guy," Roxas pointed to himself, pulling a grin that was way too large for his face, "I'll say I'm pretty strong."

"Back that up when I've got you," Axel joked, reaching from Roxas. The younger scampered out of the school.

What he saw caused him to skid to a complete halt, and Axel nearly ran into him. In fact, he did, and he had to catch Roxas around the waist to keep the boy from falling forward onto his face. Axel was still laughing, chuckling into Roxas's ear, but the blond hardly seemed to notice. In fact, it looked like his eyes were transfixed ahead, and the teenager's body had suddenly stiffened up. Axel glanced up to see what Roxas was looking at, and he saw the back of another man.

Roxas continued to stare. It wasn't possible. At first, when he stepped out, he had only noticed the shoes. They were black, and that was fine…up to the part when he allowed his eyes to travel up further and he caught sight of the long, silver hair billowing in the April wind. Roxas swallowed hard, daring himself to look further. There was no mistake; Roxas could only see a pale hand from this angle, but he didn't have to move any more to get a clear glimpse of the man. The person was already starting to turn around.

"S…" The name got caught in Roxas's throat.

The cold hard look Roxas got from those pale eyes sent a rush of dizziness through the blond. This was all happening way too quickly. That pointed chin, the paleness of skin, the silver hair, those cold, unforgiving eyes – Axel couldn't see the shock and terror that seemed transfixed into Roxas's expression since he was standing behind him. It took a while for the blond to make out, but he heard his boyfriend's cheery voice.

"Who's this?"

Roxas opened his mouth to answer but his voice seemed to evaporate the moment he saw the man. His leg did an awkward jerking motion as if to run, but his legs weren't working either. Axel's arm was still firmly wrapped around his waist, and Roxas was grateful for that, because if not, he would have fallen right into the man in front of him. The man gave him a smile, but Roxas knew him well enough to know that the other was sneering at him. Fear locked him in place. Axel might not have known who this man was, but Roxas knew better. The name was in his head, but it still refused to come out. It was just repeating, over and over and over and – Roxas watched as those thin lips parted. The man seemed to be saying something, but Roxas couldn't hear. There was a panicked buzz taking over the comprehending side of his brain. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he figured out what the man was saying.

"Good to see you…Roxas."

_Sephiroth. _

* * *

**Six Days Ago**

"What is this?"

Sephiroth threw down the magazine in front of Kadaj. On the cover, there was Roxas with his arms above his head. From the pose, it looked like he was stretching, but he was definitely not modeling. But that wasn't what had enraged Sephiroth so much. It was the fact that the bit of skin that was blemished with a small tattoo. The picture made it blurry, but there was no mistake in it. Sephiroth was furious.

"Did you know about this? I told you to make sure nothing was going on with Roxas, and I see _this_?" His voice was quiet, but Kadaj knew he was fuming. Kadaj looked at it, his expression barely changing. He picked up the magazine and scrutinized it with his bright, gleaming eyes.

"I knew nothing of it."

It was game over now, anyway. If Sephiroth found out about this, then he was definitely going back home to give Roxas a talking to. Kadaj debated whether or not to reveal that the blond had also left the hotel he was supposed to be staying in. If he was this late in revealing anything, then he would also get in trouble. He pursed his lips, staying silent as Sephiroth stared at him through hard eyes, studying him carefully. In the end, he dropped pressing Kadaj further. The silveret found it safe to carry on.

"When I saw him, he seemed completely normal. Maybe he was hiding something, I don't know. My fault."

"Yes, your fault," Sephiroth drawled, snatching up the magazine and throwing it into the waste bucket. "What is that obscenity on his back?" He was one hundred percent sure that he had forbid Roxas to do anything to his body. No piercings, no tattoo, nothing. Now he was furious that he was disobeyed. What else did Roxas do behind his back? He had a meeting to go to in a few minutes, and now he was in a bad mood. Turning to Kadaj, he ordered without looking at him, "Get me a flight back in five to six days." Damn meetings had him staying longer than he wanted them to. He wasn't going to tell Roxas he was coming home.

Sephiroth was going to pay him a little surprise visit.

* * *

**AN: **mbxncvmcnxbvcmx. this took forever to finish. me and my procrastination. i hope you enjoyed. ;; I LOVE YOU, MY DARLING READERS. will edit more if necessary. i had no beta. or editor. and i'm too lazy to do it myself. ahurrr. /runs.


	22. XXII

**AN: TWO. YEARS. LATER (OR IS IT THREE)**

GUYS. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO REMEMBER MY EMAIL AND PASSWORD JFC KDFJK. remember when my last update was me spazzing over how i finally finished after six months? HOW DOES IT FEEL NOW THAT IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS LMFAO. okay, so i have a few apologies to make. i'm horrible, i know.

my writing style has changed quite a bit and i'm sure you'll have noticed in this latest chapter. however, i did say that i wasn't going to give this fanfic up and i'm trying to keep my word, even though i'm taking forever in updating. some of you have probably stopped following this fanfic, and i can't blame you, but for all those who have been following until now, thank you. _thank you so much. _if i've got anyone to thank for getting me to continue this story, it'd be you, because kdjhksf you're all so encouraging and nice and strange (that's said in the loveliest way possible because i love strange people) for sending me reviews and messages. i was reading this at 2 AM in the morning some days ago and i … haven't read my own fic in over two years. i cringed and laughed but it made me realize how much i missed this. so while i've got this incredible urge to start over and write things a little better, ic, less cliché, (and oh god what was i doing to sephiroth i'm so sorry sephiroth pls forgive me for ruining ur character), etc, i think you all deserve a proper update and a proper ending (it's not ending yet, don't worry, but it's getting there) before i start revamping. hey, i might even start a new kh fanfic. who knows? (probably not) (but axel) (what is self control)

some of you have written some of the loveliest reviews and i still am mind-blown that i have become an inspiration for some of you. ;;; that's one of the biggest compliments i will ever, ever, ever get. and it really means a lot and. i _was _at a down-low with my writing but you guys brought me back and i can't thank you enough for it. my writing has changed, for better or for worse (? i'll let you be the judge of that) but it's what i'm decently happy with right now.

thank you again for staying with me, and hello~ to all new readers (? if there are any). i love you.

**p.s** i went back and casually weeped at the rape-scene memory because it was so horribly written … also wow my fifteen year old self threw the word "rape" around so loosely, i'm really sorry about that. WHY DID NO ONE STOP ME ; aaaaa ; " sorry for all this monologue. back to story!

* * *

**XXII**

"Roxas? What's wrong?"

The boy hadn't budged. He was rigid, as if turned to stone. Axel took Roxas by the shoulders and was startled when he felt the younger trembling beneath his fingers. It took him less than two seconds to figure out that this man was bad news. He coolly lifted his eyes over Roxas's brown hair and stared steadily at the stranger, who, in the end, seemed to be solely fixated on his boyfriend.

"It's…" Roxas stuttered. "It's…"

Axel heard a frightened, shallow breath and was about to say something when the man interrupted. "_Roxas_," he said, patronizing. A small smirk lifted the corner of his lips. "We need to talk."

The thought of the man calling _his _Roxas "Roxas" didn't even occur to Axel; he was too preoccupied with the younger male's state, which seemed to get worse when the man beckoned him over. Roxas, seemingly unable to pronounce a single syllable, numbly walked out of Axel's grasp and towards the silver-haired man. "I'll be back in a second," he heard Roxas murmur quietly.

"You sure?" Axel cast another dubious look at the man.

"I'll be fine." But even he didn't seem so certain.

Struggling to stay where he was (_trust him, Axel, just trust him), _Axel watched as they both walked out of sight.

* * *

Roxas never felt so sick in his life. The nerves were getting all jumbled in his stomach, jumping and unravelling every time Sephiroth turned around to see if he was still following him, then tightening as he took another step forward. He wanted to run around the corner and throw up, but his feet kept moving against his will. _Tap, tap, tap. _Roxas held in a suppressed sob in his too-tight throat. _Please, God. Please… _But he didn't know what to beg for.

They were walking too far from the entrance now. Being trapped in a secluded area with Sephiroth was the last thing Roxas wanted, so he stopped in his tracks, planting his feet stubbornly where he was. "I… That's far enough." A year ago, he wouldn't have had the courage to stand up to Sephiroth, but this was enough. This was the only place he had ever felt at home. He wasn't going to let Sephiroth take that away from him.

The man turned around slowly, a belittling, almost mocking, look adorning his pointed face. "Feeling brave, are we?" Then suddenly, his voice dropped to a dangerous croon. "You've disobeyed me, Roxas."

"It's just school," Roxas said, hoping to appease, to amend what he knew couldn't be fixed with so little words. "I'm still modelling. I'm still doing what you want me to do. I haven't really disobeyed. I haven't done anything wrong. I know it's your money but I earned it through my job – I just – I haven't done anything," he cut himself off. He wondered if he was making sense at all. He felt nothing in his lips and it felt like he was babbling nonsense. Sephiroth seemed to bristle.

"_You _earned that money?" Sephiroth sneered, slow and unwavering. "_You? _Because of your little stunt, I've been having to pay extra money because _you _were stealing from me." Roxas bit down hard on his tongue to refrain from denying the accusation. "You have nothing, Roxas. You have nothing without me. Have you forgotten that already?" He leered at him, straightening to his full height and towering over the smaller boy with a disdainful look. "This has gone far enough. And don't think I don't know what you've done to your own body."

Roxas stiffened. At first, he didn't know what Sephiroth had meant, but then he felt a small twinge on his back and he remembered – "My tattoo?" he asked, incredulous. "Plenty of models have marks – it's what makes them distinct! I can do what I want with my own body. I can…" he faltered, catching the murderous look in Sephiroth's eyes. And the man was _smiling. _Patient smiles. Roxas shivered. _Please, _he begged silently again. _I need to stop talking. _

_But I don't want to lose everything._

"Please," Roxas said quietly, feeling rather small and more than just a little selfish. "Just a few more months. Exams are coming up and I just want to finish the year. I'll…I'll quit after the term is done, okay?"

"You'll quit before the week is done." Roxas was about to protest that it was a Wednesday, that the week was almost through, but the look on Sephiroth's face shut him up instantly. "I'll speak to your principle. You're done. You have a lot to do. A _lot _to fix." His voice suddenly became quiet, dangerous. Roxas shivered, and found himself to be very, very frightened. "You're lucky if I don't maim you until your pretty face is the only thing that's _pretty _about you, _Roxas._"

Sephiroth hadn't touched the blond in years, so there was a moment of doubt when those words reached Roxas's ears. He slowly looked up – and was paralyzed with fear when he saw that his uncle was smiling with such sincerity that it pierced through Roxas's façade of bravery.

"Do you doubt me?"

Roxas bowed his head silently, his bottom lip trembling in anger, defeat, and fear.

Sephiroth breathed in slowly, satisfied with the fear lingering in the atmosphere. He was in control and Roxas now remembered. He let his gaze fall on his nephew's head and his lips tightened to an irate scowl. "And what, may I ask, is that?" As if he had just noticed. Roxas jumped and ran his fingers nervously through his fake auburn hair.

"I—"

"Take it off."

"But—"

"This _instant_."

* * *

_What's taking him so long?_

Axel kicked himself off from the wall, uncrossing his arms and gracing his features with a rather worried frown. _He should've been back by now._ He knew. Roxas had told him to stay but there was an uneasy feeling lingering in every thumping beat of his heart. He stooped to pick a white dandelion from the school gardens. _So … go after him, don't go after him, go after him … don't … _

_I shouldn't. _

Then he grinned. "When the hell have I ever listened to my own conscience?" he asked aloud before following the path around the building where Roxas's footprints seemed to have led. There was a surprising lack of students on school property and Axel vaguely wondered if there had been some sort of event that he had missed an announcement on. With a distracted mind, he only looked up in time to see Roxas with his head bent. Narrowed green eyes flashed in suspicion to see Roxas look so … _submissive. _

_Wait, is this…? _

Axel cursed at himself, having figured it out too late. This was the man who –

He had to stop this.

He took a step forward, mouth opening to call something out, perhaps something crude to catch their attention, or simply a "Step away from Roxas and no one gets hurt." would have worked as well, but the words caught in his throat when Roxas reached up to his hair and – _pulled – _until he was holding brown tufts of hair in his hands to reveal sunshine, golden locks.

_What…?_

His footsteps choked to a complete halt as Roxas tilted his head. There was still so much familiarity while looking at the boy from afar – it wasn't as if he hadn't imagined _his _Roxas to be blond before, but seeing it happen was like an origami lie unfolding before his eyes, unveiling something beautiful to be something … else. Axel felt like his ribcage were wrapped in shrinking ivy, finding a weight like his bones were closing in on his heart, like the bones could pierce through and –

It hurt.

Roxas turned around.

"Axel…?"

Horror had never looked clearer in those cerulean eyes and Axel couldn't find it within himself to reach out. Roxas dropped the wig and started to run towards him, staggering on the first step. Sephiroth, surprisingly, didn't stop him.

"Axel, I'm—"

"Roxas." The name tasted strange and, yet, he felt it was accustomed on his tongue. Then a sudden thought settled in. _It was a lie. I didn't even know this person. I let myself fall in love with this boy … and I never knew. _His eyes flitted up to Roxas's hair. Suddenly, so much of the last few months made sense: how Roxas never let him touch his hair, all those _questions, _all those fucking little hints ("_you might not like this other side of me_"), and – _God, _how could he have been so _stupid_? It was so obvious now. And he felt angry. Betrayed.

_Rokusasu Hale doesn't even **exist**._

Axel stepped back, shoulders stiffening to guard himself from Roxas's reaching hand. A sickened look, a livid, confused glare, graced his face. "What the _fuck._"

Roxas stopped, his hand shaking in hesitation. "I can ex—"

"No," Axel hissed. Roxas stuttered, and suddenly because Axel could see him as Roxas DeRenzis, he found it incredibly … _annoying _to even hear a syllable coming out of his mouth_._ He found he didn't want to know any more; he was afraid to know how much of this had been a goddamn lie."Do I even _know_ you anymore?"

Axel stared hard at him, into the same blue eyes, the same face he had kissed, held in his hands, _loved. _ This boy he had come to fall in love with – _had he ever existed to begin with? Or was that just another act?_ The glare hardened and it finally admonished a reply from the blond.

"It was a … I just wanted to …" Roxas's voice rose higher, eyes pleading with Axel to listen to him. Axel shook his head, amazement and disbelief written plainly on his face. Heavy silence filled the space between them. Five, ten unbearable seconds passed

Then Axel let out a harsh bark of laughter. Incredulous. Roxas blinked, surprised, almost relieved, until he saw the look of disdain and disgust on Axel's face. "Spit it out. It was all just a _fucking lie, _wasn't it?" He didn't wait for Roxas to respond; he already knew the answer. "That's what all the secrecy was about, then? Didn't want me to know about this other persona of yours. Fuck." His jaw set as he grit his teeth in resentment. "I wouldn't have been this fucking pissed if you had just told me from the beginning. If you had just _trusted _me." He laughed again. A clipped, dry sound. "Fucking played me like a fool."

"I—"

"I don't want to hear you _speak_."

He turned aside, his hand clenched into a tight fist as he shoved it into his pocket; he was afraid he would lose control over his temper and take a violent swing at Roxas. His eyes flitted back to the younger boy's face and he only felt mildly disgusted with himself when he told himself that he _actually_ wouldn't mind knocking out a few teeth for this lie. He felt too nauseated to say any more, bile threatening to burn his throat as he finally wrenched his gaze away from Roxas. He didn't know what to think.

"Don't follow me."

He walked away without another word.

* * *

Axel was gone. It had been a long thirty-five seconds as Roxas stared into the empty space before him. He had gone without another word, without even turning back just like he always used to, with a smirk and – no. Roxas had a strong feeling it wouldn't happen ever again. Not after what just happened. A chill crept up his arm. Still he stared, perhaps hoping that Axel would come back, head thrown back in a laugh as if nothing was wrong. He waited. One, two, three held breaths. Nothing. Axel was definitely gone.

Roxas swallowed hard, a sickening throb in his brain as he turned around. The only thing relieving about this entire situation was that Sephiroth had left. With his heart pounding against his chest, he stumbled over, dropping to his knees and clawing at the forgotten wig on the ground. With a choked, frustrated yell, he threw it at the wall (it fell unsatisfyingly on the ground) before striking his fists against the bricks. The pain didn't even account for what he felt inside, but it stung and it distracted him enough to slide to the ground with a sob.

_I'm so stupid. I'm so, so, so stupid. _

He sat on the ground, another wretched sob wracking his frame. "No one to blame but yourself," he whispered thickly. It didn't rain, but he wished it would. Pathetic fallacy would have made him feel better about crying. He wished the sky would darken, wished the sun _would stop fucking shining. _The warmth on his hair never felt so cold in his entire life. Roxas curled up, buried his face into his arms, and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

"_The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"_

"_Hey, sunshine!"_

"_Give me a real smile, won't you, Roxas?"_

"_You know I'm always here for you, Rox."_

"_I'll hold onto you. Promise."_

"_I'll take care of you, Roxas. I'll protect you."_

"_I told you I was going to stay with you, no matter what."_

**"_Is that a promise?" _**

"_Do you want it to be?"_

"_Hey, I love you, Roxas."_

"_I love you."_

* * *

He woke up to a tumult of disorientated feelings, with dirt pressed damply against his cheek and a throat too sore to speak. He opened his mouth; a painful, scratchy cough was the only sound he could make. His eyes felt swollen, like he had received two swift punches to each before falling unconscious._Where am I? _he thought, lifting his head. A heavy pulse shot through his head and he held it between shaking hands. For a breathtaking, oblivious moment, he forgot what had happened hours ago.

Then it all came back to him.

He decided he would rather take the two punches over this.

Roxas crawled onto his knees, fumbling with his pockets before dropping his cell phone onto the ground. _Axel…_ he had half-expected to see his name as the LED light flashed blindingly into his tired, dulled eyes. **No New Messages**. He checked his inbox. Nothing at all. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy.

Feeling completely and utterly cold and miserable, Roxas dragged his feet back home.

* * *

**AN: **sephy ain't stickin' around for boyfriend drama nope the bamf has other things to do like ruin someone else's life.

you guys are crazy for sticking around. crazy awesome. ok though i willingly admit that this wasn't my best writing and you guys deserve better. u_u" but accept this for now? g-gomen. ; w; there are no words to say how sorry i am for making you wait this long ; ^^;


End file.
